[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/USS_Enterprise.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:These are the voyages...]]

->''"Space... the final frontier."''

'''''Star Trek''''' is an iconic, [[LongRunners long-running]] science-fiction franchise with five television series and twelve movies spanning three generations of characters and four decades of television.

The setting in every series is about [[EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse an Earth-based interstellar government]] called [[TheFederation the United Federation of Planets]] and their fleet of starships, which form [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Starfleet]]. Every series dealt with a particular crew, mostly of various ships named ''[[LegacyCharacter Enterprise]]''. As originally envisioned by its creator, Creator/GeneRoddenberry, the science fiction nature of the series was just a method to address many social issues of the time that could not have been done in a normal drama. As such, it was not above being {{Anvilicious}} or engaging in thinly-veiled social satire, but considering its origin during the 60's, [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped some anvils needed to be dropped]].

It was, for the most part, ''way'' on the happy end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism, at least partially because of its solid allegiance to the Enlightened side of RomanticismVersusEnlightenment. But it still found some sort of balance between a Dystopia and a CrystalSpiresAndTogas future. In general, it is a future you hope will come true, albeit after humanity [[EarnYourHappyEnding endured terrible troubles]] like the Eugenics Wars led by the [[BewareTheSuperman genetically enhanced conqueror]], Khan Noonien Singh, and [[WorldWarThree a third world war]], and rose above them. All series have sought to show that while you may think the world is falling apart and there is no chance of global unity, all this crap will eventually work itself out.

The series has also had a profound impact on modern culture and media. Everyone with any exposure to Western pop culture has heard of the Starship ''Enterprise'', and the series predicted (and possibly inspired) the PC, tablet, automatic doors, cell phones, natural-language AI and more, decades before their invention. Not so incidentally, the first African-American woman in space was inspired to become an astronaut because of Creator/NichelleNichols' pioneering role. Also not so incidentally, the space shuttle ''Enterprise'' was named after the iconic starship, as is the first commercial spacecraft.

And finally, ''Star Trek'' also gave rise to {{Fandom}} as we know it: when ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' began to pick up steam in syndication, fans organized conventions, wrote [[FanFic fanfiction]], dressed in costume, and generally made enough noise to keep the franchise going for forty years and counting. Every fandom since has grown from that original outpouring of fannish activity and devotion.

!!Television Series in the franchise include:[[index]][[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:''The Original Series'']]'''''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''''' ("TOS", 1966-1969) Set from 2265-2269 -- The one everyone has heard of (at the time, of course, it was just called ''Star Trek''). Captain James T. Kirk (WilliamShatner) leads the brave crew of the CoolStarship ''Enterprise'' on a mission "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before."

The format was pitched as a WagonTrainToTheStars, with new planets and aliens encountered every week, though the Klingons and Romulans would become regulars in the ''Star Trek'' galaxy. The original series suffered in the {{ratings}}, but gained a devoted fanbase. UnCanceled after the second season, and then {{Cancell|ation}}ed again at the end of the third. It ''really'' picked up steam in syndication, which was about the time demographics came into play - and the RealLife moon landing happened a week after its last episode aired.

The show's writing was good, the cast had great chemistry and the characters themselves were very memorable, to the point of creating three new archetypes: TheKirk, TheSpock, and TheMcCoy. In fact, this series created [[TropeMakers so many new tropes]] that it has left an unmistakable mark on both television and pop culture ever since. Not to mention inspired a ''lot'' of mostly {{affectionate parod|y}}ies.[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The Animated Series'']]'''''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries''''' ("TAS", 1973-1974) Set from 2269-2270 -- Used most of the original cast (and a few additions) to provide voices for the animated versions of their characters. The quality of the show was hit and miss, with some being mediocre cartoon fare while others were excellent, and the series got the franchise's first Emmy award. 22 episodes were produced.

The official canonicity of this series has gone back and forth, but at least some elements have bled over into the rest of the franchise (most notably, identifying the "T" in [[TheKirk James T. Kirk]] to stand for [[EmbarrassingMiddleName "Tiberius"]]) and the addition of the [[CatFolk cat-like]] Caitians to the mythos (see Star Trek 2).[[/folder]]

[[folder:''The Next Generation'']]'''''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''''' ("TNG", 1987-1994) Set from 2364-2370 -- The ''other'' one everyone has heard of. Takes place in the 24th century on the ''[[CoolStarship Enterprise]]''-[[CoolStarship D]], with the same mission of exploration as the original.

The new captain is Jean-Luc Picard (Creator/PatrickStewart). Introduced the holodeck (although a version of it appeared first in the {{canon}}/noncanon "TAS"), defined the Klingons as being a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy society of honor and war]], and really hit it home with creating the cybernetic alien race, the Borg. Also, there was [[TheTrickster Q]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Deep Space Nine'']]'''''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''''' ("[=DS9=]", 1993-1999) Set from 2369-2375 -- Takes place concurrently with the end of ''Next Generation'' and the lion's share of ''Voyager'', and conceived as a SpinOff of TNG. Set on a former Cardassian space station (formerly Terok Nor, renamed Deep Space Nine) in a politically unstable part of space near the planet Bajor, with exclusive access to a rare stable wormhole that leads from the Alpha to the Gamma Quadrant.

From the fourth season onwards, former TNG character Worf joined the cast and the whole series got much darker with a massive interstellar war between the Federation, Cardassians, Klingons, Romulans, and the Dominion. Was also the first ''Trek'' series to use {{Story Arc}}s extensively, rather than persisting with a strictly episodic format. Generally considered the OddballInTheSeries as far as the television shows go.[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Voyager'']]'''''Series/StarTrekVoyager''''' ("VOY", 1995-2001) Set from 2371-2378 -- Another SpinOff of ''Next Generation'', conceived as its successor. While searching for a group of rogue Starfleet people called the Maquis, both the title ship and a Maquis ship are flung across the galaxy and stranded in the Delta Quadrant, 70,000 light years and seventy-five years' travel from home (''Series/LostInSpace'' a la ''Star Trek'').

Had the first main character female captain in the franchise. In the mainstream, this show is best -- perhaps only -- known for its MsFanservice character, [[TheSpock Seven of Nine]]. Among fans, it's infamous for the VillainDecay of the Borg, the obscene levels of TechnoBabble, and mashing the ResetButton after roughly every other episode, but it is also notable for tackling controversial topics even other ''Trek'' series wouldn't touch.[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Enterprise'']]'''''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''''' ("ENT", 2001-2005) Set from 2151-2155 -- Prequel to the original series. Set a hundred years or so before Kirk and the Federation, when humans are just getting their space legs (and the AppliedPhlebotinum is not nearly as reliable), aboard Earth's first, experimental Warp 5-capable starship, the Enterprise NX-01. It began with a MythArc involving the Enterprise crew getting caught up in a "Temporal Cold War" being fought by several rival TimeTravel factions, though it gradually fell victim to the TheChrisCarterEffect.

The series was then {{Retool}}ed twice: first with the third season introducing an ambitious season-spanning StoryArc centering around the sudden appearance of [[ScaryDogmaticAliens a mysterious new aggressor]] called the Xindi, and then with the fourth and final season consisting of several two-to-three-episode-long "mini-arcs" that [[CallForward laid the groundwork for the Federation]] in earnest. Sadly, just as it began to pick up steam, it was abruptly cancelled. Infamous for the [[RealSongThemeTune pop song]] in the opening credits, and for being the first Trek series since the original to be canceled before the usual seven seasons.[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Phase II'']]In addition to these, '''''Star Trek: Phase II''''' was a series concept designed as the cornerstone of a Creator/{{Paramount}} Pictures-based network in 1976. A continuation of the original series and featuring a second five-year mission, it would have introduced a number of new characters in conjunction with the original crew.

When the network project died and the insane success of ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'' made sci-fi films profitable again, Paramount elaborated the series pilot into TheMovie, which ultimately led to a whole new line of movies.[[/folder]][[/index]]

!!Movies in the franchise include:[[index]]* '''''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture''''' (1979) (c. 2273) -- Kirk [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether rallies the old crew]] to intercept a technological EldritchAbomination heading towards Earth. Said to be a padded out ''Phase II'' episode script, and bears resemblance to a couple original series episodes.* '''''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''''' (1982) (2285) -- Khan from the TOS episode "Space Seed" returns intending to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.* '''''[[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock Star Trek III: The Search For Spock]]''''' (1984) (2285) -- The crew find that for Vulcans, DeathIsCheap. Kirk and crew risk everything to get Spock back.* '''''[[Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]''''' (1986) (2286/1986) -- To save Earth from a destructive, silent alien probe, Kirk and crew TimeTravel to TheEighties and [[FreeTheFrogs save the whales]]. Also, they need nuclear wessels.* '''''[[Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]''''' (1989) (2287) -- After a botched attempt to rescue hostages, the ''Enterprise'' is commandeered by a radical Vulcan who intends to find God.* '''''[[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]''''' (1991) (2293) -- Klingons sue for peace in a near perfect recreation of the Cold War finale. Quite blatantly a rip on the Cold War and its concurrent real-life end, precipitated by a lunar equivalent to the Chernobyl explosion. (In)Famously establishes Klingon blood to be a lovely lilac colour, but only for this installment. * '''''Film/StarTrekGenerations''''' (1994) (2293, then 2371) -- A MadScientist seeks to destroy billions to reach a NegativeSpaceWedgie that allows [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny Kirk to meet Picard.]] The first movie featured the TNG cast and was intended as a torch-passing moment rather than a final farewell to the original cast that ''Star Trek VI'' was.* '''''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''''' (1996) (2373/2063) -- The Borg attempt to assimilate Earth in the past, with Picard slowly becoming [[Literature/MobyDick Captain Ahab]] against them.[[note]]This would later lead to Creator/PatrickStewart playing Ahab himself in a miniseries.[[/note]] It also shows humanity's first contact with another species, the seed from which the Federation would flower.* '''''Film/StarTrekInsurrection''''' (1998) (2375) -- Finding that TheFederation intends to pillage a [[PlanetOfHats Shangri-La planet]], Picard actively rebels to save them.* '''''Film/StarTrekNemesis''''' (2002) (2379) -- The perpetually secretive Romulans make a surprising effort for peace, but, of course, their leader has much more devious intentions. The last film of the prime ''Star Trek'' universe which nearly mortally wounded the entire franchise, being the only one to not make its money back at the box office.

Many of the concepts from ''Phase II'' made their way into ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and the series itself is considered ''[[{{canon}} deuterocanon]]'' - not "true" canon, because it never made it to the screen, but allowed in BroadStrokes to fill a gap in Trek chronology (notice the fictional length of time between ''The Motion Picture'' and ''The Wrath of Khan'').[[/index]]

After the cancellation of ''Enterprise'', 2006 was the first year with no new Star Trek stories on film or TV since 1985. Then, when all seemed lost, ''Star Trek'' was revived with a [[TheFilmOfTheSeries Film Of The Series]] which promises to kick off a whole new series of movies:

[[index]]* '''''[[Film/StarTrek Star Trek]]''''' (2009) (2233 -- 2258) -- A mixture of ContinuityReboot and BroadStrokes with new actors showing that the ''TheOriginalSeries'' characters [[InSpiteOfANail will always end up together]] on the ''Enterprise'', no matter the universe.* '''''[[Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness Star Trek Into Darkness]]''''' (2013) (2259) -- The cast from the 2009 film reprise their roles, and Captain Kirk fights against BenedictCumberbatch, who plays a powerful villain intent on {{Revenge}} against Starfleet.* '''''Star Trek XIII''''' (2016) (TBD) -- The upcoming thirteenth film whose release is set to coincide with the franchise's 50th anniversary.[[/index]]

In total, to watch every minute of {{canon}} Star Trek would require 23 days and 25 minutes of your time. Of Science Fiction franchises, only ''Series/DoctorWho'' and its various canon spinoffs are even within a week, and the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' franchise, which started later than Star Trek or Doctor Who, but has been running continuously since 1979.

!!Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverseThe Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse consists of the expected novels and videogames; these are somewhat infamous in many circles (compared to the ''Franchise/StarWars'' counterparts) for the casual disregard the producers of the shows often hold for them.

See also the Franchise/TrekVerse - a discussion of internal ''Trek'' history as viewed from a real-world perspective as well as how it affected modern culture.

If you'd like to try that marathon and you live in the United States, every series is freely available on [[http://www.startrek.com/videos the official Star Trek website]].----!Tropes common across all series:[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:A-D]]* ActionFigureFileCard: The figures made by Creator/{{Galoob}} (for ''Next Gen'') and Creator/PlaymatesToys (for the entire franchise up to ''Voyager'') had them.* AIIsACrapshoot: Self-aware computers are AlwaysChaoticEvil in [=TOS=]. Later series had more nuanced explorations of the concept.* AlcubierreDrive: Arguable UrExample. The warp drive is described similarly in the technical manuals (though we should note they aren't considered {{canon}}) and was the inspiration for Miguel Alcubierre's theory.* AlienNonInterferenceClause: TropeCodifier via General Order Number 1, the Prime Directive, that generator of so many plot devices.* AllGenesAreCoDominant: See Spock (human-Vulcan hybrid), Lieutenant Torres (human-Klingon), Ziyal (Cardassian-Bajoran), and others.* AliensAreBastards: Largely averted. Alien civilizations in Star Trek run the full spectrum, from benevolent to not-so-much. Societies are mostly guided by principles of self-preservation and/or self-improvement; they differ in means. The Federation is all about cooperation and community. Others (Cardassians, Romulans, TOS-era Klingons) are about military conquest. But even those are portrayed realistically, and sometimes sympathetically, as just groups of individuals doing what they believe to be correct. Very few (the Borg, the Pah-Wraiths) are presented as being genuinely AlwaysChaoticEvil.** Even the Borg aren't entirely evil; they [[WellIntentionedExtremist believe they're bringing other species closer to perfection by assimilating them]].* AlmightyJanitor: Boothby, the groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy. Played by Ray Walston of ''MyFavoriteMartian'' fame.* AlternateHistory: In ''Star Trek'', the 90s and late 80s were a genetic renaissance, and superhuman products of genetic manipulation almost threw mankind back into the dark ages. After Humanity's recovery from this, the Vulcans arrived and Humanity's technology advanced extremely quickly. All the shows take place after this.** In some cases this is retconned or made to be more of a SecretHistory, in order to keep alive the possibility that ''Star Trek'' could hypothetically still be our future (thus retaining the positive outlook on mankind's future).** And what happens when 2053 rolls around and WorldWarIII (hopefully) doesn't happen?* AlternativeNumberSystem: [[AllThereInTheManual According to]] ''The Klingon Dictionary'', the Klingons used to count in a ternary (base-three) system, but have since switched over to decimal.** In ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine [=DS9=]]]'' the Cardassians apparently have different numbering systems for merchant and military castes, a factor which comes up in attempting to work with their technology.* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Borg who are connected to the race's HiveMind (those not connected can be good). The original series and ''Enterprise'' also portray Klingons and Romulans this way, and ''The Next Generation'' does likewise with the Ferengi and Cardassians.** Both TNG (particularly the "Reunion" two-parter that featured the return of Spock) and [=DS9=] show Romulans capable of acting reasonably. In the TNG episode "The Neutral Zone" Picard and his Romulan counterpart agree to cooperate in investigating an unknown entity threatening the settlements of both powers [[spoiler: that would later be revealed as--or at least heavily implied to be--the Borg]]. In ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'' the Romulans actually ''save'' the ''Enterprise'' from near-destruction and render aid to the crew. [=DS9=] showed that individual Cardassians were capable of being good and honorable people even if their society doesn't encourage it.* AlwaysOnDuty: The main characters are always on the bridge whenever something interesting is happening. The only time across the entire franchise that we see evidence of any kind of watch system is in a few TNG episodes where Data is shown on midnight watch (whatever "night" is in space), once in VOY when Harry Kim is on duty, and once when Captain Sulu of the ''Excelsior'' in ''The Undiscovered Country'' gets woken up by Christian Slater.* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: The Bolians, the Benzite and the Andorians are bright blue; Bolians evolved from aquatic mammals, and Andorians hail from an icy moon. Andorians also behave like aristocratic "blue bloods", drink blue alcohol, enjoy listening to "Andorian Blues" music, and so forth.* AngelsDevilsAndSquid: The Bajoran Prophets are the Angels, the Pah-Wraiths and Fek'lhr are the Devils, and the various StarfishAliens (Species 8472, Devidians, etc.) and EldritchAbominations are the Squid. Then, there are the Q, who have traits in common with all three, and can choose which one they are, depending on the day and their mood.* AppliedPhlebotinum: What would the franchise be without this? Really?* ArchaicWeaponForAnAdvancedAge: {{Subverted|Trope}}. The Klingons love their {{Cool Sword}}s like the bat'leth, but ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' makes a point of mentioning that an old lady with a phaser is worth a dozen Klingons with melee weapons.* ArcNumber: 47, from the middle of ''Next Generation'' on.* ArsonMurderAndLifeSaving* ArtificialGravity: Rarely mentioned, but (almost) always present whenever the action takes place aboard a starship or space station.* ArtisticLicense: Physics & Science, mostly. * TheAssimilator: The Borg.* AuthorAppeal: Rick Berman has admitted that he is the one mostly responsible for so much TimeTravel in the various shows. He just loves the time paradox of "this is the reason this happened [[TimeyWimeyBall but that is the origin of that event and here is where we have to make a choice as to whether this or that occurs]]..."** Ira Stephen Behr apparently missed the memo about Trekkies generally not being fans of swing music. He admitted responsibility for Vic Fontaine, having spent weeks vetting James Darren (no relation to Bobby) for the role. Behr sympathizes with the fans' displeasure at the Vic episodes... kind of. Vic still sang a total of fourteen songs in Seasons Six and Seven of [=DS9=], including the Series Finale(!).* AwesomeButImpractical: the Klingon bat'leth.* AwesomeMcCoolname: James T. Kirk....At some point this became more than just a name. When he spoke it, people listened. * BadassArmy: The Klingons wish they were these but they are more of a subversion. Starfleet qualifies, at least in space--they tend to be somewhat underprepared for extended ground combat.* BeleagueredBureaucrat: [[TheFederation Starfleet Command]] sometimes give the impression of being between this and {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}.* {{Big Damn Movie}}s: The movies feature far more action than you're likely to find in a typical ''season'' of [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original series]] or ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Generation]]''. While episodes of the series typically involve stories about exploration and dealing with touchy political issues, the movies are much more likely to involve clashes with full-on {{Card Carrying Villain}}s.* BizarreAlienBiology: There's quite a lot of this going around amongst the races seen in the setting.** BizarreAlienReproduction: Some of the bizarreness pops up when it comes to procreation. One of the more infamous is a species seen in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' that reproduces through mind-linking GreenRocks (and where the [[MisterSeahorse MEN]] fall pregnant).* BoardingParty: Beaming aboard the enemy ship.* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The norm, really. For Humans, the Prime Directive was a means of addressing this concept. It boils down thusly: 1) There are alien cultures out there with values and customs potentially very different than ours; 2) Said values and customs are no more or less valid than our own; and 3) we have no right to change or influence these cultures, only try to understand and respect them.* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: Data, Spock, and most Vulcans.* BurialInSpace: Ship casualties are loaded into hollow photon torpedoes (which are conveniently shaped like tanning beds) and shot into space. This is what happened to Spock in ''Star Trek II'', before his body landed on the Genesis Planet and was mistakenly revitalized. ** GeneRoddenberry, the father of ''Star Trek'' is a real-life example, as is James Doohan, the original Scotty.* BusmansHoliday: For a franchise founded on skimpily-clad babes, the so-called "pleasure planet" of Risa is uncannily like Dante's Hell. Every ''Trek'' character who has flown there for some cheap sex has been met with [[ProfessionalKiller assassination attempts]], [[HoneyTrap robbery and assault]], [[DistressedDude kidnapping]], [[ManchurianAgent brainwashing]] (twice), [[WeatherControlMachine natural disasters]], [[DieHardOnAnX terrorist takeovers]], etc. Male characters in particular are met with swift punishment for trying to get laid.* ButtMonkey: Ships named USS ''Saratoga''. Both times they've shown up onscreen, they've ended up getting a new one torn by the Threat of the Week. In ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' it was the whale probe. In ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'': [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E01E02Emissary "Emissary"]] it was the Borg.* TheChainsOfCommanding: Every captain, along with various other officers in temporary command.* ClassicallyTrainedExtra: Patrick Stewart became the butt of jokes for putting his career on hold to do ''Star Trek''; the press presumed he was having a mid-life crisis and just wanted a fat pension and swarms of fangirls all over him. Most charmingly, he retorted he considered his years in the RSC "training" for his role as Picard. But in reality, the franchise is famous for casting many stage actors over regular TV guest actors. In fact, actors who ''lacked'' theater experience (Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew) are sometimes disparaged in fandom and even occasionally felt like the odd man out.-->'''[[http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.com/2012/02/voyager-season-one.html Doc Oho]]''': I have heard people dismiss Mulgrew’s performance in the past because she is a TV veteran and [[NoTrueScotsman not a Shakespearean actor or from an impressive theatrical background]], but in all honesty she is one of the strongest actors in the ''Star Trek'' universe. I would happily squeeze Mulgrew into the arsenal of talent that fronts ''[=DS9=]'' because she is far too good for a show like ''Voyager'' and I do feel they were lucky to have her. ** According to J.G. Hertzler, Klingon actors in particular are cast for their Shakespearean training. "They tend to go with people who can operate in a strangely heightened reality and somehow make it as close to reality as you can. That's sci-fi; that's what you need."* CloningBlues: As a rule, clones tend not to do well in the Trek universe, often meeting bad ends. Examples include the clones of Pulaski and Riker illicitly created by the Mariposans in "TNG: Up the Long Ladder" (along with the [[CloneDegeneration Mariposans themselves]]), [[TeleporterAccident Thomas Riker]], the [[DesignerBabies Jem'Hadar]] and [[ExpendableClone certain Vorta]] from [=DS9=], Shinzon from "Star Trek: Nemesis" and [[ExpendableClone Sim]] from "ENT: Similitude".* ClothesMakeTheLegend: The black and primary color uniform scheme. Only the first six films and ''Enterprise'' (though that did have the TOS colours on the shoulders of their all-blue NASA-style flight-suits) didn't follow this... though the uniforms with ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Wrath of Khan]]'''s emblematic red-vest-division-turtleneck-and-black-pants is also very popular.* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: ** In The Original Series, the Starfleet uniform colors for the different divisions were Command Yellow, Science Blue, and Operations [[RedShirt Red]]. In TNG, though, Command and Operations switched colors. By the time VOY rolled around, the cargo containers were denoted by red/blue/gold lettering depending on which department they're being shipped to. ** On TNG, Cadets wore a variation on the standard uniform, but with the colors reversed: division-colored shoulderpads on black jumpsuits. This later became the attire of "[[LowerDeckEpisode lower deck]]" drones who labored within space stations and other departments; no glamorous ''Galaxy''-class explorers, they. Cadet uniforms are usually grey, although they too underwent changes. ** Also for many of the major races and nations, who are associated with particular colour schemes:*** The Federation is a rich blue (on star charts, on their seal, in their warp plasma) supplemented by other light pastel shades and grey (for ship bulkheads).*** The Klingons are red (on star charts, on their banner, their graphic displays and ship controls, their warp plasma, their transporter effect). They also prefer red lighting aboard their ships and in their buildings.*** Romulans are deep green (on star charts, on banners and display graphics, their warp plasma, their transporter effect). Their ships also have a deep green hull colour. Interestingly Romulans have green blood (copper-based). This means the ships are ''blood colored.'' *** Cardassians are usually yellow-ochre or pink (both colours were used for their weapons - pink in their first few appearances, later yellow, their transporter is yellow-ochre, on star charts they're either yellow or pink). Their ship hulls are ochre. Their graphics and display panels use orange/beige and green, colours that sometimes appear on their cultural emblem.*** The Dominion is [[PurpleIsPowerful purple]] (their warp plasma, on star charts; their graphics are purple and green).*** Ferengi warp plasma and ship hulls are orange.*** Andorians, to no-one's surprise, like white and blue, along with a pale beige.*** The Borg favours black and a sickly green.*** Bajorans uses gold-tan and dark red.* CollectibleCardGame* CommandRoster: ''Star Trek'' is likely the TropeMaker or at least set the standard of how this trope is used.* CommunicationsOfficer: Every series has one except ''[=DS9=]'' (though in ''TNG'', Worf gets shuffled out of the position pretty quickly and nobody really replaces him).* ContinuityLockout: increases the further along the franchise you go. By the time of Enterprise you pretty much need a strong working knowledge of Vulcans, Romulans, Borg, Andorians, Ferengi, etc to fully understand the episodes. Often cited as a contributing factor in the demise of both the 1987-2001 TV franchise and the 1979-2002 movie franchise, and a reason why JJ Abrams decided to start over (almost) from scratch in 2009.* ContinuitySnarl: Several examples in canon. The most notorious:** The Klingons' forehead ridges, which are not present in the original series, but are in all later ones, including ''Enterprise'', set in an earlier chronological era.** The Eugenics Wars, which supposedly devastated Earth in the [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 1990s]]. Unfortunately, they can't simply be forgotten as they provide the origin for one of the franchise's most iconic villains, Khan. Various attempts have been made to suggest that they were actually some kind of underground struggle between conspiracies that wasn't known to mainstream society.* CoolButInefficient* CoolStarship: ''At least'' one for series and film from both heroes and villains. ''Star Trek'' as a whole has, quite possibly, the largest collection of these.* CovertDistressCode: "Condition Green" is a Starfleet standard duress code.* CrossOver: The various series saw many of these, beginning with The Next Generation, although events in one series rarely affected the others. The crossovers became more frequent in later years.** The only storyline to play a major role in multiple ''Star Trek'' series was that involving the Maquis. The reason behind their existence (the creation of the DMZ) was established in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' Season Seven but the Maquis were introduced in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' Season Two before turning up in "Preemptive Strike", the penultimate episode of ''The Next Generation'', and forming a major part of the backstory of Chakotay and B'Elanna in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. The destruction of the Maquis by the Dominion in ''Deep Space Nine'' Season Five comes back to haunt Chakotay and B'Elanna in ''Voyager'' Season Four when the ship finally makes contact with the Alpha Quadrant.** Events from one series do occasionally impact on later ones in less direct ways though. For instance, a major part of Sisko's backstory in ''Deep Space Nine'' was the death of his wife Jennifer during the Battle of Wolf 359, which occurred in TNG's "The Best of Both Worlds". The subsequent Borg attack on Section 001, which occurred in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', is mentioned occasionally in ''Deep Space Nine'' while the Dominion War from ''Deep Space Nine'' is mentioned in ''Voyager'''s "Message in a Bottle", ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection'' and ''Film/StarTrekNemesis''.* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Deep Space Nine'' is the darkest of the TV shows, with its plots involving petty politics and the terrible aspects of war, as well as its less rosy portrayal of the Federation. Unlike most other examples of this trope, however, the show never fully abandoned the idealism of the rest of the franchise even in its darkest moments.* DataPad: [=PADDs=].* DeadlyTrainingArea: The holodecks were intended to be used for training, but they're one of the most hazardous areas on the ship thanks to {{Holodeck Malfunction}}s.* DeathWail: The standard practice when a Klingon dies is for his/her comrades to hold their eyes open while screaming loudly to the sky to warn those in the afterlife that a great warrior is on his/her way to join them.* DeflectorShields: A standard ship feature. Battle shields tend to get knocked down 30 - 50 percent in a few hits. Ships also have low-level shielding that keeps them from being punctured by centimeter-wide space debris at warp speed.* DestructoNookie: Klingons.* DevelopmentGag: Quite a few. Jeffries Tubes were named after the visual designer of the original series (and designer of the original Enterprise) Matt Jeffries. Various shuttlecraft, such as the Justman, were also named after notable production crew. A section of Stage 16 at the Creator/{{Paramount}} studio used to portray alien planets had the nickname of "Planet Hell," which was used as a description of an appropriate planet in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''.** The ENT episode "Dear Doctor" makes a reference to sex-starved Archer's "[[FreudianSlipperySlope Pillarian Slips]]" in front of busty T'Pol. This is a cute nod to writer Michael Pillar.* DressUpEpisode: most common in the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Original Series]] ("A Piece of the Action", "Return of the Archons", "Assignment: Earth"), but happens in''Next Generation'' a fair amount too ("The Big Goodbye").* DrinkOrder: -->'''Picard:''' Tea, Earl Grey, hot!\\'''Sisko:''' One raktajino with [[RealMenWearPink a jacarine peel!]]\\'''Janeway:''' Coffee! '''[[MustHaveCaffeine Black!]]'''\\'''Troi:''' Hot chocolate!\\'''O'Brien:''' Coffee, Jamaican blend. ''Double'' sweet, ''double'' strong.\\'''Rom:''' Snail juice, extra shells!\\'''Bashir:''' Red leaf tea!\\'''Worf:''' [[RunningGag PRUNE JUICE! EXTRA LARGE!]]** Apparently, the unspoken mission of the United Federation of Planets is to distribute root beer throughout the universe.** The Ferengi specialize in an alcoholic beverage called a black hole. Want to get hammered fast? Try a black hole.** The alcohol of choice for most Cardassians is kanar, a liquor that comes in several forms, most commonly a syrupy, dark brown liquid in a spiral-shaped bottle.** Other drinks include Romulan ale, tranya (from TOS' "The Corbomite Maneuver" and later stocked at Quark's on ''Deep Space Nine''), something called a Cardassian Sunrise, and the famous Klingon bloodwine. Actual blood is not among the ingredients, though it is served warm (to ''simulate'' drinking the blood of one's enemies). It's also twice as potent as Earth whiskey.* DoctorsOrders: The medical personnel can remove the captain from command.* DueToTheDead: A good number of funeral customs, at that.* DyingAlone[[/folder]]

[[folder:E-H]]* EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Earth is both the capital of the Federation and the headquarters of Starfleet. If an alien enemy wants to seriously conquer the Federation, taking Earth is invariably seen as key to doing so.* EmotionSuppression: The Vulcan culture has EmotionSuppression at its core.** Roddenberry once decreed that humans ''don't grieve'' in the future. "Death is natural." This was loosened up a bit after Gene got KickedUpstairs.* EmotionsVsStoicism: Romulans vs. Vulcans.* TheEmpire: The Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire and Cardassian Union. The Andorians tried their hand at becoming an imperial power in ENT, but mostly just embarrassed themselves.** The Terran Empire rules with an iron fist in the Mirror Universe.** The Klingon Empire in the original series qualified until they allied with the Federation. Prior to the Dominion War however, it temporarily relapsed back to the "old ways", namely with the conquest of Cardassia. ** The Cardassian "[[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Union]]" is an imperial military dictatorship, run by military officials in an Orwellian body known as the Central Command, rather then one Emperor. It's more similar to Nazi Germany or the USSR then a traditional empire, controlled by a political body. The occupation of Bajor has shown the jack-booted Cardassians to be particularly ruthless. * EpicTrackingShot: It's an interesting thing to note as the next generation of shows progressed in special effects.* EverythingSensor: EVERY scanner is like this.* EvilIsNotWellLit: Of all the species, only the Borg and Cardassians have an excuse for this - the Borg's minimalism, and the latter's sensitivity to light. Incidentally, this is the excuse for ''Deep Space Nine'' being so dimly-lit, since it was built by the Cardassians.* EvilMeScaresMe: ''Trek'' has a decent history of {{Evil Twin}}s, what with [[PhlebotinumBreakdown transporter accidents]] and the MirrorUniverse. There's the example of Kirk being a LiteralSplitPersonality with an aggressive, hot headed side and a passive, weak-willed but logical side and the passive side is afraid of the aggressive one. Major Kira Nerys of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' gets [[DepravedBisexual HIT ON by Mirror Kira]]. However, since the MirrorUniverse normally involves plots of being swapped with the guy on the other side (presumably to avoid having to deal with one actor being in a single scene) mostly you get the counterparts never meeting and at most Evil You Scares [-(but sexually intrigues)-] Me. Or in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'''s version, their opposite is usually dead on one side of the mirror or the other.* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: The Borg are amazed people aren't lining up to be assimilated. [[HiveQueen The Queen]] touts it as a ''blessing.''* ExplosiveInstrumentation: Star Trek is the TropeCodifier. Consoles tend to explode in a shower of sparks whenever a ship takes damage. A frequent cause of [[RedShirt redshirt]] deaths.* ExpositionBeam: Vulcan Mind Melds are essentially this, along with a host of other AppliedPhlebotinum uses.* {{Expositron 9000}}: The ship/station computers. ...And Data, if you think about it.* FamilyValuesVillain: Many examples. Most notably, the Klingons, Cardassians, and Romulans place great importance on family and honoring their elders. Of course, there are numerous ugly exceptions to those rules. * FanOfThePast: Too many to name. You're far more likely to find a character enjoying a play, book, or movie that's a classic by ''our'' standards rather than a fictional future contemporary.* FantasticMeasurementSystem:** The Klingon distance unit "kellicam" is roughly equal to a kilometer.** The Bajoran measurement system includes hecapate, kellipate, kerripate, linnipate, tessijen and tessipate.** Computer capacity is measured in kiloquads, a unit that is very carefully never defined to avoid looking outdated when TechnologyMarchesOn.** Subspace distortion is measured in cochranes, an SI unit named for warp drive inventor Zefram Cochrane.** Stresses are often given units of 'isodynes'. The Dyne is a legitimate unit of measure (albeit not SI), but is a measure of force (equal to 10 micronewtons). The correct usage would be 'Dynes per some unit of area'. There is no mention of what the prefix 'iso-' might represent. The prefix 'tera-' is also used (e.g. 'Hull stress at over 30 teradynes and rising!') and is more legitimate, but if that example was per square metre, the stress would be of the order of 10 megapascals - 100 times atmospheric pressure. Not a huge quantity in the grand scheme of things if you're a starship.* FantasticNamingConvention:** The Bajorans use their family name before their personal name.** The Klingons have one personal name, their father's name, and then their ''house'' name. The house name is usually omitted in introductions, but the crest is worn on their metal sashes.** Vulcans have several conventions followed:*** They seem to only have one name, no family name.*** Female names usually begin with T and have an apostrophe, followed by a P. Notable exceptions include: Tuvok from ''Voyager''.*** Male names usually begin with S and do not have an apostrophe. Notable exceptions include: Saavik from movies ''II'', ''III'', and ''IV''.** Romulans similarly tend to have only one name with no surname.** Ferengi also tend to have only one name, generally one syllable, with no surname.* FantasticRacism: There will always be at least a few members of each species that has issues with humans, other species, or vice versa.* FantasticNuke: The [[AGodAmI Genesis]] Device, a sophisticated torpedo used for rapid terraforming of dead worlds. Ironically, deploying this on an ''inhabited'' planet has the opposite effect, destroying all life to make way for the new matrix. ** In "Chain of Command", Picard's sent to destroy a protoype metagenic weapon. Metagenic bombs wipe out all organic matter on a planet's surface, leaving only the manufactured materials intact (and the world ripe for conquest). The weapons were outlawed, in part because they were equally hazardous to the invading force; however, the Cardassians were rumored to be overcoming that problem. This turned out to be a false flag, though.** The Vulcans use "Red Matter" to create pocket [[OurWormholesAreDifferent black holes]]. Nero got the bright idea of using it to eat a planet (specifically [[DeathByIrony Vulcan]]).* FantasticRankSystem: Everyone except the Federation has a different one. See the trope page for more details.* FantasyAxisOfEvil: ''Star Trek'' tends to map over to fantasy races pretty well. Aside from the FiveRaces, you have the [[ProudWarriorRace Klingons as orcs]], the Borg are pretty close to undead, the Cardassians as xenophobic Humanoids, the Romulans countering the [[OurElvesAreBetter Space Elf Vulcans]] as Dark Elves, and the Ferengi much like goblins.** [[TheEmpire The Dominion]]:*** Jem'Hadar: Savage*** Breen: Eldritch*** Cardassians: Humanoid*** The Founders: Fallen*** Vorta: Crafty* FantasyCounterpartCulture: While not fantasy, most of the major alien species have some connection to Real World counterparts. It should be considered that there is a difference between culture and politics.** The Federation - The United States. Although, it's sort of a mixture of the United States & the United Nations. The Federation flag & the Federation Council are reminiscent of the UN Flag & the Security Council. However, unlike the present-day UN, the Federation is a sovereign government with elements common to a federal republic. Persons on Federation worlds are citizens of the Federation. That citizenship is guaranteed rights by way of the Federation Charter & Constitution, and the rights enumerated in the Federation Charter & Constitution have supremacy across all member worlds.** Starfleet - The United States Navy. Both the Earth & Federation versions of Starfleet have individual ranks & systems of hierarchy that correspond with the USN's. The color of Starfleet personnel's uniforms are based on the specifics of their job, just as its done with the flight crews aboard USN aircraft carriers. Also, during the Dominion War, ''Deep Space Nine'' has Starfleet deployed in the numbered fleet configurations used by the USN, with the 3rd Fleet referenced as protecting Earth & the 7th Fleet all but destroyed in a failed offensive.** Vulcans- Great Britain. Not a perfect match-up, but ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' depicted them as a regional superpower who eventually lose much of their realm of control as Earth increases theirs.** Romulans- Communist China, made fairly obvious in the original series. A secretive government who you aren't quite sure what they're up to. ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]'' expanded on that by showing the Romulans as emerging from decades of isolation from the rest of the galactic community. They also started to become a bit like Iran, for similar reasons. There are allusions to the Roman Empire too: their two main planets are Romulus and Remus, they are called an Empire, their ruling body is the Senate which is headed by a Praetor, and low-ranking officers are called "Centurions". ** Klingons- Soviet Russia, like the Romulans the analogue was obvious enough in the original series (although in their initial appearance they were described as ''Vietcong'' -- "Oriental, hard-faced" and "the Ho Chi Minh type"). They were the passive/aggressive species with whom it felt like war was always just around the corner but never quite got there. They mirrored Post-Soviet Russia in ''The Next Generation'' in terms of politics, having gotten past the "cold war" era but still not fully trusting each other. But as part of GeneRoddenberry's plan to not make them evil and a race of "black hats," they turned into... vikings. *** As if Worf's passing reference to a "Klingon tea ceremony" in [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]], the whole [[PlanetOfHats racial obsession with]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy honor, combat, and dying with honor]], and their love of [[KatanasAreJustBetter big, fancy curved swords]] wasn't [[FeudalJapan blatant enough,]] in "The Sons of Mogh" Worf's dishonored brother comes to him for help with a Klingon ceremony that's essentially {{Seppuku}} [[AC: [[RecycledInSpace In Space]]]].** The Cardassians took a few stabs at being Nazi analogues (xenophobia is inherent in their genetic makeup). After various failed attempts at democratization and improving relations with the other galactic powers, they join the Dominion and become a Nazi client state like [[LesCollaborateurs Vichy France]]. Eventually a "[[LaResistance Free French]]" faction emerges, though they are led by Damar, a DefectorFromDecadence (whereas the exile Garak was more of a De Gaulle analogue). ** Cardassian culture is very military-center and totalitarian - on ''Deep Space Nine'' one of the characters comments that "Cardassians have a habit of looking to strong military leadership in hard times" (Bismarck, the Kaiser etc). Parallel was apparently noted in-series, as the anti-Cardassian resistance shares a name with the French resistance of WWII.*** Cardassians as generic colonial powers works just as well as the obligatory Nazi comparison, since Bajor is always called a colony and is run along those lines: occupy and obtain resources (with local slave labor), rather than being a matter of living space or an ideology. *** Cardassians as a version of Japan is a popular alternative, especially among those who look at details like what food they eat. Much like Imperial Japan in the 1930's and 40's, the Cardassian Union had a nominally civilian government but was actually ruled by the military; though it was considered to be a major power within its sphere of influence, the Cardassian Union was actually smaller and less powerful than its neighbour (which in this case, is the United Federation of Planets). ** Bajorans as generic colonized people. (Would support the Cardassians as generic colonial powers interpretation.) Rick Berman compared the Bajorans to "the Kurds, the Palestinians, the Jews in the 1940s, the boat people from Haiti — unfortunately, the homeless and terrorism are problems [of every age]." They're a mishmash of pretty much any victimized group throughout the 20th century. ** Orions- The Mafia / Criminal Underground** Nausicaans- Gang Leaders.*** Same goes for ''Voyager's'' Kazon.** Ferengi- The East India Companies (most closely)*** Their society and system of government both bear some resemblance to the cities of Hong Kong and Singapore.* FasterThanLightTravel: Rather hard to imagine the series without it.* FeudalFuture: Earth seems to be the only planet that ever got the hang of democracy. Non-Federation worlds are depicted as imperialist aggressors (the faux-Chinese Klingons and the Greco-Roman Romulans) or peasant societies with well-oiled guillotines.* FictionalGenevaConventions: The Khitomer Accords, an historic peace treaty between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. It's the prime focus of ''Star Trek VI'', with both sides attempting to scuttle it.* FictionalSport: Parrises Squares, a highly-athletic game played on the Holodeck.* FictionScience: The series have produced a large number of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek_technical_manuals Technical Manuals]], many of them official. These fill in many details of life in the Trekkian future, especially the inner workings of the Enterprises and other starships.* ForgotTheCall* ForgottenPhlebotinum: In every single series and the movies. There are an insane number of instances where at the end of an episode the protagonists have in their possession some fantastic new piece of technology, which will ''never'' be used or mentioned ever again. Often a case of the StatusQuoIsGod, because the Federation simply cannot be allowed to get too far ahead of rivals such as the Klingons, Romulans or Cardassians.* FreeLoveFuture: Obviously downplayed, due to television constraints. However, Roddenberry was very much a proponent of this trope. We don't see much of civilian life on Earth, but officers are allowed to cavort fairly freely aboard the Federation's flagship. Prostitution (real and [[SexBot simulated]]) has also been legalized.-->'''Website/TheAgonyBooth''': ''Kirk has been with a lot of women, and is presumably deeply grateful for whatever eliminated [=STDs=] in Gene Roddenberry’s universe''* FrickinLaserBeams: Common throughout the franchise, though beam weapons move faster in later series, particularly ''Enterprise''. HandWaved in most instances, as the weapons used are not actually ''lasers'' (which are described once as terribly obsolete), but particle beams that move at sublight speed.* TheFutureIsNoir: The original designation for [=DS9=] was Terok Nor, which is one letter removed. It shows in the station's habitat ring, which is marked by patchy lighting and catwalk ceilings. ** Originally, going to Red Alert merely caused red lights to flash. By VOY, every single light on the ship is dimmed. Most likely a nod to the RealLife military practice of using red and/or dimmed lights in dark environments to preserve one's night vision, though this would be counterproductive on a ship that is operated entirely using brightly-lit touchscreens. But would help conserve energy that might be needed in a red alert situation.** "Yesterday's Enterpise" (TNG) and "Living Witness" showed alternate worlds in which the ''Enterprise'' and ''Voyager'' are fully-cocked warships, under the oppression of ''permanent'' Red Alert.** ''Generations'' was shot this way mostly to disguise the decade-old sets. However, ''First Contact'' was filmed much the same way, despite taking place on a brand new ship, perhaps to illustrate that the Federation is at war again.* GameOfNerds: A recurring motif in some episodes. Wesley Crusher mentions his father once teaching him the game, and a physicist in "Evolution" bemoans the decline of the sport in the late [=20th century=] (attributed to commercialism and sloth). ** Ben Sisko is a serious baseball nut. In his debates with the Prophets, an abstract species who think in non-linear terms, baseball is used as a methaphor for each crisis.* GenericistGovernment* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke: We see the full effects of DNA hacking during the Eugenics and Dominion wars.** Bio-memetic gel, a key component of biogenic weapons. The actual ''effects'' of this gel are left up to the imagination; the Federation bans any and all weapons applications, so it must be pretty hairy. ** "In the Pale Moonlight" suggests that it can be used to create bombs that pass for organic matter.** Some ExpandedUniverse sources imply that ''biogenic'' is the equivalent of ''weapon of mass destruction'' in current parlance. That is, this is a weapon you had DAMN well better not get caught actually using.* GenericanEmpire: The United Federation of Planets, the Dominion.* GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion: The remastered Original Series and The Next Generation got a lot of "nip and tuck" regarding for the Hi-Def release (CBS aired some episodes before the actual Blu-Ray release came out). For the Original Series they strove to attain a visual look [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series?file=Comparison_TOS_original_remastered.jpg virtually identical but simply cleaned-up]]. They also included a couple of brand new clips that were intended for the original episode but unable to film at the time, such as an establishing shot of Starfleet Command on Earth. TNG had a similar process done, largely for some effects that simply didn't age as well like the Crystalline Entity. The whole thing was well regarded, in large part because they were supervised by Trek production legend Michael Okuda.* GhostExtras: In the hundreds and thousands, given that TheMainCharactersDoEverything on every single ''Trek'' show. Occasionally one will be promoted to AscendedExtra, but more often they get "demoted" to RedShirt.* AGodAmI: To be a {{Terraform}}er in the Trek universe is to be very lordly, indeed. See the imperious Kurk Mandl in "Home Soil" (TNG), later one-upped by nine-time author (all autobiographies) Gideon Seytik in [=DS9=]'s "Second Sight." Something about creating planets gives scientists a god complex; Seytik's [[FamousLastWords final words]] were even, "Let there be light!"* GoodColorsEvilColors: When heroes on Trek use transporters, the visual effect appears blue. Alternatively, Klingons use a red effect. The Borg are green.** Cardassians (and, by extension, the crew of ''[=DS9=]'') have yellow transporter beams.* GoodOldWays* GovernmentDrugEnforcement: Used a couple of times in TNG and ''Deep Space Nine'', also used in the movie ''Insurrection''.* GrayingMorality: From series to series, at least for a while. TNG is grayer than the original series, and ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' is even grayer than that. ** The Prime Directive is often at the heart of this over the progression of the franchise, interestingly despite the fact that later series like ENT and the reboot movies chronologically predate TOS. As time has gone on, writers have increasingly treated the Prime Directive as an almost callous SocialDarwinist policy, to the extent that extinction of sapient species is considered preferable to the hypothetical negative consequences of "interference" in their cultures.** As part of the DarkerAndEdgier nature of the reboot movies, Section 31, much earlier in its history than in the main timeline, is well past the MoralEventHorizon. They have gone from covert activities to defend the Federation to building super-warships and attempting to preemptively start interstellar wars to eradicate Federation enemies.* GreatOffscreenWar: The [[WorldWarIII Third World War]] and Eugenic Wars, all taking place on Earth and concerning only humanity. It was actually ''one'' war in the Original Series, but was later split up into two. ** There are EU novels dealing with both, with ''The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh'' being the most-read. Also, in the interest of reconciling the Eugenics Wars with the real life passage of the era in which they are said to have taken place (1990s), the Eugenics Wars were retconned into a far less grand scale war that happened mostly [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy in the shadows of real life events]]. ** To provide a replacement AfterTheEnd scenario with the minimization of the Eugenics Wars, the 21st Century was retconned as having been a series of global conflicts, culminating in a mid-scale nuclear WorldWarIII. Even by the latter part of the century much of Earth was still in a state of post-apocalyptic anarchy, despite first contact with the Vulcans in 2063.** The war between the Federation and Romulan Empire, which forms the backstory for the episode "Balance of Terror". ** The Next Generation has the war between the Federation and the Cardassians, which was responsible for creating the Anti-Federation confederates known as the Maquis. ** As well as "brutal border wars" against the Talarians and the Tzenkethi, which happened at some point between the Original Series and the next Generation. ** The Earth-Romulan war ended as this, because ENT was canceled before it could cover it. The continuation novels have since stepped in to flesh it out. When first mentioned in the original series, this war was fought entirely at extreme ranges with nuclear weapons (and with neither race ever actually laying eyes on the other).* GunboatDiplomacy: TheFederation definitely believes in "carrying a big [[CoolStarship ship]]" to negotiations. They don't usually push their self-interest too hard with this show of force, but it still makes three things clear. "We are strong." "We are rich." "You ''don't'' start fights when we're trying to negotiate."* HalfHumanHybrid: Spock, Deanna Troi, B'Elanna Torres, [[spoiler:Sisko]].* HateFic: The Federation is frequently portrayed as a [[RedScare semi-communist dystopia]], only averting the worst horrors of the stereotype due to their AppliedPhlebotinum. The website [=StarDestroyer.net=] is famous for [[FlameWar advocating and supporting this view]], as seen in [[http://stardestroyer.net/Empire/Essays/Trek-Marxism.html this essay]].** This [[http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=75690 fanfic(?)]] shows how the Federation could go from the ''TOS'' to ''TNG'' in a disturbingly realistic way.* HaveIMentionedIAmADwarfToday: Klingons tend to do this a lot; Worf is only the most prominent example.* HeroOfAnotherStory: It is implied through the various ''Star Trek'' shows that the sort of adventures the ''[[CoolStarship Enterprise]]'' and her crew get in is just the far side of typical. {{Lampshaded}} by Captain Janeway when she stated in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' that "Weird is part of the job."* HideYourGays: A common criticism of the franchise as a whole, especially given its tendency to be {{Anvilicious}} on a wide range of social issues such as racism, gender inequality and social class conflicts. Complaints only got louder as the franchise continued to grow throughout the 1990's, a time when many far less activist television shows had begun to include openly-gay regular characters, while ''Star Trek'' studiously avoided the topic. Often producers tried to appease critics by addressing it in very heavily metaphorical ways, typically involving the use of BizarreAlienBiology. To date, no human character has ever been anything other than heterosexual, and while things like InterspeciesRomance are commonplace, any kind of same-sex relationships are still taboo unless they can be explained as a quirk of alien culture.* HighlyConspicuousUniform: Worf once justified this by claiming Starfleet duds are suited for a wide variety of climates, due to the special material or somesuch. ("Let He Who is Without Sin"). It also spared the makeup department from showing us what Klingons look like in swim trunks, but that's just coincidental. ** The Klingons are the lords of this trope. At least the Romulans can claim a degree of urban camo with their checkered outfits. The Klingons are all about plate metal, spikes, and gauntlets that would make [[TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Shredder]] envious. And don't forget the steel-toed, spiked boots for kicking your enemy's skull in.** The Cardassians favor big, bulky chestplates, along with a wide neckline for the snake-like hoods on their neck. It doesn't look very comfortable or maneuverable.* HollywoodEvolution: The franchise is guilty of promulgating virtually every sub-trope of this into public consciousness, undoing the work of biology teachers everywhere. In particular, GoalOrientedEvolution is extremely popular with the writers, who often incorporate the idea that the evolutionary future of any species can be predicted with comparative ease and surprising accuracy. This often forms the backbone of rationalizations of how the Prime Directive is interpreted in a given episode, with characters taking the stance that the evolution of a given species is "supposed" to go down a certain path (which may include extinction if the species is unfortunate enough to be pre-warp).* HollywoodTactics: Went up and down depending on the series and the point in the series, but pretty much everybody is ''woefully'' under-equipped and fights very poorly in land combat.* {{Hologram}}: Starting in [=TNG=], recreational holodecks were standard, with "hard light" holograms made of projections and forcefields. Later series also added the Emergency Medical Hologram.* HumanOutsideAlienInside: While most of the species that are encountered look fairly humanoid, many of them turn out to have truly [[BizarreAlienBiology bizarre biological differences]].* HumansAreDiplomats: Especially during [=TOS=] and early TNG. Gene Roddenberry opposed the idea of a military Starfleet.* HumansAreSpecial: The Federation is a vast, multi-species, space nation -- that is overwhelmingly run by humans and HumanAliens. Aliens are a definite minority in Starfleet. Many alien species use "The Federation" and "Starfleet" to explicitly refer to "humanity" and "Earth".** Particularly noteworthy in crew of the Federation Flagships. In TOS and TNG, the majority of the main cast was human. The remainders? Spock, a half-Human half-Vulcan. Troi, a half-Betazed half-Human. Data, an android designed by a human, with a personal goal of becoming more like a human (Not like humanoids or other biological lifeforms, but specifically human). And Worf, a full blooded Klingon, who was raised by Humans. Ironically, the one Enterprise which would have an excuse to have only humans on it, the Pre-Federation Earth vessel captained by Archer, had two alien main cast members with no particular tie to humanity.* HumorlessAliens: Vulcans allegedly have no sense of humor, but they all seem to be {{Deadpan Snarker}}s anyway.** This is a bit of FridgeBrilliance. Humor is usually about the incongruity between logic and reality. So, basically, Vulcans have spent hundreds of years watching every other race act like clowns, and they get the joke. They may not guffaw, but their sense of humor is finely honed. ** Sulu tells a young Tuvok once, "Don't tell me Vulcans don't have a sense of humor, because I know better." True enough![[/folder]]

[[folder:I-L]]* IfYouTauntHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim* InertialDampening: Occasionally mentioned by the characters, Inertial Dampeners allow an Impulse-drive-powered starship to accelerate from a dead stop to a substantial fraction of the speed of light in under a minute, without turning the crew into crepes. The technology isn't quick enough to compensate for random, unexpected impacts, however, which can result in the StarTrekShake.* InexplicableCulturalTies: In Roddenberry's ''Star Trek'' pitch, he explains how culturally (and [[HumanAliens biologically]]) familiar aliens would make ScienceFiction feasible for TV. ''Star Trek'' has since been true to what he called the Parallel Worlds concept that prescribes that alien civilizations will usually be very much like humans culturally and therefore not too foreign to the audience.* InsistentTerminology: Back in the days when "geek" was [[http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/freddie+blassie/pencil+neck+geek_20769788.html a bonafide insult]] rather than a badge of honor, fans considered "Trekkie" insulting and belittling. It was ''Trekker'', thank you very much. As times changed and being a nerd became cool, the diminutive came to be embraced as more like a term of endearment.* IntelligentGerbil: Lt. M'Ress, the felinoid alien from the AnimatedSeries; the Gorn/Cardassians/Xindi, basically LizardFolk; the Bolians are based loosely on dolphins.* InsaneAdmiral: Probably the TropeCodifier. If a visiting guest, alien enemy or a spatial anomaly wasn't behind the Problem of the Week, it was almost certainly one of these.* InterdimensionalTravelDevice: Transporters can act this way under certain circumstances (which occur accidentally in the original series, and then are intentionally reproduced in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'').* InterspeciesRomance: A staple of the show, and interestingly many species are genetically-compatible and can produce viable offspring, even if their anatomy and biochemistry are dissimilar. Several main characters such as Spock, Deanna Troi and B'Elanna Torres are HalfHumanHybrid[=s=] born from marriages between humans and aliens.* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Gene Roddenberry's first pilot episode didn't sell. He had to recast the Captain and shoot it all over again, and it was ''still'' smoked by ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'''s ratings.** [[invoked]] The Original Series was, famously, UnCancelled after college students [[VindicatedByCable had a chance to catch up with it in reruns]]. ** Ironically, this later success ended up jeopardizing the series' future. When news hit of ''TNG'', fans were up in arms, and the original cast members weren't shy about voicing their displeasure either. The show flailed about for two seasons trying--and failing--to distinguish itself from its parents series, recycling plots and characters, having actors defect and leave the show, and nearly losing ''Patrick Stewart'' (who saw the shadows lengthening and opted [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere not to renew his contract]]). Were it not for the cliffhanger ending in "The Best of Both Worlds", TNG might not have been renewed and the franchise would have ended there.* JustAMachine: ''Star Trek'' in general draws a distinction between the special cases like Data and the Doctor, and the ubiquitous ship computers responsible for getting everything done in the background. Despite the fact that ship computers can pass the Turing Test with ease, act on their own initiative, and occasionally even display signs of emotion, this is never investigated or even mentioned in-story: ship computers are always just-machines and limited to being background elements (this is doubly notable since some of the special case characters, such as the Doctor, run on a ship computer).* LargeHam: Pops up a lot, but becomes near-certain whenever a Klingon is on screen.* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: The gold uniform worn by Kirk, and later Archer). ** The colors were shuffled around a bit on ''TNG'', with [[color:red:red]] (formerly Operations) and [[color:yellow:gold]] (Command) trading places. [[color:blue:Blue]] still stands for Sciences division.PrimaryColorChampion LawOfChromaticSuperiority: * ALessonInDefeat: The Kobayashi Maru test is an UnwinnableTrainingSimulation designed specifically to invoke this, as it cannot be beaten without cheating.* LetterMotif* LicensedPinballTables: Several, [[Pinball/StarTrek all collected here.]]* LogicBomb: Though there were precedents in pulp SF, Kirk did this to no fewer than three computers.** [[TheWikiRule Memory Alpha]] calls the full-on 'cause the computer to shut down' version [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Induced_self-destruction induced self destruction]], and counts five cases (one inadvertent), all of them by Kirk.* LongRunners: The second longest running sci-fi franchise in the world, beaten only by ''Series/DoctorWho'' - and Star Trek has more total hours (as stated earlier). * LoveIsInTheAir: Several episodes throughout the different series. Subverted in the infamous Risa episodes.* LuddWasRight: By means of SpaceAmish.* LudicrousPrecision: The Vulcans are prone to this, as is Commander Data.[[/folder]]

[[folder:M-P]]* MadeOfExplodium: When a computer blows up in ''Star Trek,'' it '''BLOWS UP.''' This extends to either independent computer equipment or even the consoles on the bridge. Sometimes characters even die from the exploding bridge consoles.* MadeOfPhlebotinum* MagicalSecurityCam: Happens so often and so early in the setting that it can be considered a technological standard. At this point, anything else would be a deviation from canon.** Taken to its logical extreme in ''Voyager'', where the ship recorded all of the crew's brainwaves.* MagneticPlotDevice: The various starships. The Holodeck. The Bajoran wormhole in ''Deep Space Nine''. The Temporal Cold War in ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]''.* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: ''Trek'' seems to have a problem with keeping crew members at their designated stations, probably because it would become monotonous to the actors. It's a running gag that during a ship-wide emergency, the last place you'll find the Chief Engineer is in Engineering. (In TNG, Geordi could simply "transfer Engineering control" to the bridge, whatever that means, and thus justifiy his presence there.)* TheManBehindTheMonsters* MechanisticAlienCulture: Several aliens, primarily from the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries original series]]:** The drone-like Lawgivers in "Return of the Archons." In that case, the drone-like humanoids were controlled by an intelligent supercomputer.** The original builders of the Androids on Exo III were also stated to have been a society of biological creatures who ruined their homeworld and retreated underground where they became a more mechanized, machine-like society.** The Kelvans from the Andromeda Galaxy are implied to have a culture like this; they are completely organic beings, but in their true form they experience none of the sensory distractions of humanoids, and consider themselves much more efficient. They go about trying to take over the Milky Way with very straightforward methods (transforming Kirk's crew into vulnerable dust-cubes that only their technology can restore to human form, for example) but without any of the typical ''Trek'' villains' hamminess. The Federation is saved from them by the fact that, when in artificial humanoid form, the Kelvans become {{Sense Freak}}s and can be incapacitated in a variety of ways, such as by the effects of alcohol or unfamiliar emotions like pleasure or jealousy.** The Eyemorg (humanoid female) society in the infamous episode "Spock's Brain" were totally reliant on a mechanized underground industrial complex run by advanced computers (for which purpose they tried to steal "Spock's Brain," because they lacked the knowledge to maintain this infrastructure themselves unless); this was in contrast to the primitive, Ice Age-like culture of males that lived on the surface.** The Fabrini who lived aboard a generational asteroid ship, which they all believed was actually a planet, were similarly run by an advanced, tyrannical computer called The Oracle. The Fabrini were less "rigidly mechanical" and more "rigidly traditional" though, the rigid traditions being enforced by The Oracle.** The [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Borg]] are a Hive Mind of HollywoodCyborg aliens that otherwise follow this trope, using cybernetically augmented humanoid bodies only as cannon fodder and servitor units.** Vulcans sometimes have elements of this, but their culture is much more complex. Their education system, however, as briefly shown in ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' and more extensively in ''Film/StarTrek (2009)'', is very much in line with this trope and plays like a callback to the uber-intellectual, emotionless aliens of older science fiction.** The Iyaarans, a species from a Season 7 episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', play this trope absolutely straight, and also like a callback to aliens from older Sci-Fi: They are DittoAliens with rubber foreheads and jumpsuits; they lack cultural concepts like antagonism, love, joy, pleasure, crime, etc; they all appear male and reproduce asexually by [[NoodleIncident something called post-cellular compounding, the exact mechanics of which are, fortunately, never detailed]]. Their diet is extremely bland, consisting of nutrient wafers, because they consider their need to eat as matter of sustenance only, not pleasure or enjoyment, like many other humanoids consider meals. Unlike most examples of this trope, however, they are very curious about other cultures, though they struggle to understand diverse cultures like [[TheFederation the Federation]].** Similarly, the cauliflower-headed humanoids that abducted Picard for study in an earlier episode were all [[DittoAliens identical]] with no concept of individual identity or leadership. What little was revealed about their society hinted at something like this trope.** The Bynars from the first season episode "11001001" are closely dependent on their computers for survival. They have implants that connect them to their planet's central computer, have "digital" names like One Zero and Zero One, live and work in binary pairs, have a language based on binary, and when their planet's central planetary computer is fried by a nearby supernova it almost wipes out the entire species.** The [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Hier]][[PlanetOfHats archy]] from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' are a callback/parody/possible deconstruction of this, with their heavily regimented, computerized society, costume design, and snotty behavior.* MildlyMilitary: Starfleet combines the swashbuckling and relative independence of ships from the [[WoodenShipsAndIronMen Age Of Sail]] with a preference for a fairly relaxed, "[[CulturedWarrior enlightened]]" attitude, and a portfolio split between defence, science, law enforcement, and diplomacy.** It is now {{Canon}} that NCC-1701 is a ship's classification number, however with that lead "N" it ''could'' be taken as a ''civil aircraft'' registration number.** Not unintentional, as Roddenberry reportedly based the Starfleet hull-numbering system after the US civil aircraft registration system deliberately referencing the "N" or "NC" numbers used on US aircraft.)** The placement of the insignia on the uniforms is reminiscent of a police officer's badge. Roddenberry was a Los Angeles police officer prior to his entertainment career, so perhaps this usage was intentional given Starfleet's law enforcement/community service role.* MilitaryMaverick: Almost expected of Starfleet captains, it would seem. Picard, for all his careful, deliberate, and knowledge of the the regulations (backwards, forwards, and sideways), has many moments of this, and the others even more. One gets the impression that, away from central planets and main trade routes, the captain ''is'' the Federation, with all the discretion '''and''' responsibility that implies.** Considering that the original concept for the series was Hornblower in deep space, and that ship captains during the WoodenShipsAndIronMen era usually were their respective country's highest representative in any area where they were stationed... ** Janeway in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' once made a comment about how strongly she had to hold onto Starfleet regulations so far from home, but also admired the gung-ho attitude of [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries earlier Starfleet captains]] ("I would have loved to ride shotgun at least once with a group of officers like that!").* MiracleFood: The replicators can recycle matter to synthesize almost anything, including food and drinks. Several episodes have seen the crew replicate food and other provisions for people in need.* MonsterOfTheWeek: ** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':In SF author David Gerrold's book about writing the episode "The Trouble With Tribbles", he recounts seeing the first episode broadcast, which featured a creature that sucked all of the salt out of people's bodies, thereby killing them. He hoped ''Star Trek'' wasn't going to turn out to be a MonsterOfTheWeek show, which ironically for him, it did.** While later series rarely had weekly ''monsters'', ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and especially ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' had [[NegativeSpaceWedgie stellar anomalies]] of the week that were always solved by a healthy amount of {{Technobabble}}.** The first season of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' started to become a [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien ''god-like alien'']] of the week show, but fortunately found sturdier footing in subsequent seasons.* MonumentalView: Every iteration puts Starfleet academy on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco (and directly across from Starfleet headquarters.) There's a bit of a problem with that as the land there is almost exclusively deep, steep, hills.** On the other hand, the chronologically earliest series takes place a century and a half in the future. Plenty of time for the hills to get bulldozed.*** Those same hills where the academy would be placed if it were a real place are actually home to a large network of abandoned US Naval fortifications, which presumably could be used by Starfleet, with additions for things like hangers or storage making it a fairly logical placement for the purpose of a base/training station. * MoreHeroThanThou: Any time one Starfleet officer says IWillOnlySlowYouDown.* MostCommonSuperpower: In recent years, various actresses have let slip that most, if not all, of ''Star Trek''[='s=] females have had to wear padded bras. Notable exceptions are Nana Visitor ([=DS9=]) and Kate Mulgrew who, according to legend, took her stuffed bra, stomped straight into the writer's room, and slammed it on their desk saying, "I'm ''not'' wearing that."* TheMultiverse: ** Kirk, [=McCoy=], and several others were transported to a MirrorUniverse in the "Mirror, Mirror" episode of the original ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}},'' in which a dark Earth-based empire ruled the galaxy. This was very much an InSpiteOfANail universe, since everything was much the same except the moral/ethical bent of the Federation's counterpart and its citizens.** Years later, the cast of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' returned to this universe to discover that the revolution Kirk had encouraged its native Spock to foment had happened; unfortunately, its effects were not necessarily for the better.** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' revisited this again in "In a Mirror, Darkly", just to hammer it home that HumansAreBastards.*** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' had an episode with Worf bouncing between various InSpiteOfANail alternate universes. According to WordOfGod, this is distinct from the usual MirrorUniverse though.* NarratingThePresent: the {{Captains Log}}s.* NationalWeapon: The Klingon bat'leth.* NegativeSpaceWedgie: From a well-known parody.* NeverGiveTheCaptainAStraightAnswer: Occasionally, when something particularly strange was in the transporter room or something, the officer present just asks the captain to come look. Sometimes justified, as with Scotty in ''Wrath of Khan''. * NowDoItAgainBackwards* NoOSHACompliance: Various parts of the ships have handrails a-plenty, but virtually no seat belts (the reboot films being a notable exception.) Across multiple series and movies, time and again in the franchise, you'll see the ship rocked by explosions and characters thrown hurtling all over the bridge while the camera shakes, sometimes being hurled from one end to the other. You'd think that seat belts would become a priority after decades of this. Poor Worf doesn't even have a ''seat.''** Fridge here but maybe all that being tossed around is what lead to Worf's Badass Decay. He probably broke every bone a few times over, and even in the future that has to take a toll.** It gets worse when you consider how everything on the bridge tends to explode and occasionally kill various redshirt crewmen whenever the ship takes a hit. Do they store nitroglycerine in their computer consoles? Did they never invent fuses?** Humorously averted, perhaps even lampshaded, in ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock''. The brand new U.S.S. Excelsior, which allegedly has transwarp drive. Every crew station on the bridge had a seat, and when they prepared to try the transwarp drive for the first time, it was shown that the armrests on the seats could be pulled inward, to better secure the crewmembers in place. Perhaps when the transwarp drive technology failed to pan out, Starfleet decided to abolish the chairs too?** Referring back to the handrail, it came to a head in ''Enterprise'' when a crewman actually calls something a handrail, then when its pointed out that where it's placed on a lift would actually sever fingers, is clearly confused and asks why anyone would ''put'' their hand there. Considering its Trip ''of all people'', who's asking the crewman this, its even more baffling?* NoSuchThingAsAlienPopCulture: Occasionally subverted or averted, it's still the rule rather than the exception. Notably, Klingons have opera and something resembling heavy metal.* NoSuchThingAsHR: A common point of confusion in the otherwise enlightened future of ''Star Trek'' is Mc Coy's humorously treated FantasticRacism towards Spock , along with the number of physical altercations the crew get into without really getting into trouble. Justifiable in [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original series]] since the ship's on the edge of known space; by the time the franchise moved closer to Earth with ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', a more established bureaucracy seemed to be in place (though occasionally characters like Worf seem to be allowed a huge amount of leeway as a ProudWarriorRaceGuy).* NoSuchThingAsSpaceJesus: Due to the incredible number of SufficientlyAdvancedAliens that Starfleet comes across just within the immediate vicinity of the Federation, skepticism levels are off the charts. Even in cases such as the Q, where the aliens in question actually ''are'' [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]]. This was averted in [=DS9=], where the Bajoran Prophets were increasingly accepted as having a religious mystique even by the Starfleet people, despite the fact that they are actually pretty mediocre by the standards of godlike beings in the ''Trek'' universe.* NoTranshumanismAllowed: To an almost militant degree. A recurring theme across series is that trying to augment existing species or individuals beyond their natural capabilities is morally wrong. Even treatment of genetic defects is questioned in some circumstances, with [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetic engineering]] overall being greatly feared due to the so-called "Eugenics Wars" of Earth's 1990's which were the result of the creation of [[BewareTheSuperman human Augments]]. Somewhat ironically, actual [[SuperBreedingProgram Eugenics]] however would be legally possible within the Federation, as InterspeciesRomance, often involving species possessing superhuman abilities, is very commonplace.* OfficerAndAGentleman and/or CulturedWarrior: To some degree, almost all Starfleet personnel are one or the other of these. Even the CloserToEarth types have scientific and literary interests. Many enemies are WickedCultured as well.* OneWorldOrder: Are there any planets in that future that ''don't'' have a solitary, planet-wide government?** Kesprit - in fact it's a point against it joining the Federation that it is divided into two blocks (Kes and Prit respectively) that they can't figure out a way to unite peacefully.*** It's stated in the episode that not being a united world would not automatically disqualify them from Federation membership, but it was a point of contention as being a united world was extremely encouraged. The Federation feels that there is a good chance that a world that hasn't even resolved the differences among their own people and united them isn't ready to join an interstellar community. This feeling is proven correct in the episode.* OurDoorsAreDifferent: Sliding doors everywhere. ''Everywhere''.** The foley effect for ''Trek'' doors is the sound paper makes when removed from an envelope. Then there are the heavier, ''Whirrr Ka-CHUNK'' sliding doors.* OutrankingYourJob: Seemingly every crewmember aboard both ''Enterprises'' is an officer.** Away teams, the futuristic equivalent of a boarding party, are typically composed of several senior officers, plus one or two RedShirt characters as cannon fodder. In TOS, Kirk himself frequently led the away team.** Inverted by Miles O'Brien. He's essentially the chief engineer, but he's just a petty officer. Granted, there don't seem to be that many Starfleet officers under him, so he technically ''does'' still outrank his staff. Most of them seem to be Bajoran civilians (and Rom). * PaletteSwappedAlienFood: Romulan and Andorian Ale is blue.* PerfectPacifistPeople: Several species in the various works exhibit this trope.* PhotoprotoneutronTorpedo: Photon torpedoes are the TropeMaker. There are also quantum, plasma, and polaron torpedoes, just to name a few.* ThePlague: The disease that killed all the adults in "Miri". (TOS)** Rigelian Fever in "Requiem for Methuselah".** The disease from "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E4TheNakedTime The Naked Time]]" (and its sequel "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E2TheNakedNow The Naked Now]]") is apparently non-fatal, but is highly contagious and, in both episodes, turns the entire crew into oversexed, drunken boobs who threaten to destroy the ship.** The macrovirus in the ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' episode "Macrocosm". Especially nightmarish because of the monsters that exist solely as vectors, and are produced by the welts on its victims' skin.** Also in VOY, an entire alien species is struck with the "phage", a flesh-melting disease which adapts too fast to be treated. The aliens are forced to graft skin and organs from assorted species onto themselves.** In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', the Dominion infected an entire planet which resisted them with a plague called "The Quickening" (after the final deadly stage of infection). Everyone is born with it, most die in childhood, but enough people survive to adulthood to keep their population stable, turning what was once a space-faring civilization into something resembling the DungAges. Dr. Bashir beats his head against the wall trying to find a cure, but can only come up with a vaccine. The upshot is that future generations may yet stand a chance.** The Federation's [[WellIntentionedExtremist "Section 31"]] also created a plague to kill the Changelings and win the war. It was ultimately successful, as the Changelings ended up bartering peace in exchange for a cure. ** The plague that nearly depopulated one of the Dramians' two planets in [[StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries the Animated Series]] episode "Albatross."* PlanetOfHats: Most planets visited have exactly one government, one language, and one culture.* PlanetaryNation: If you do not have one, then as far as the Federation is concerned you are a bunch of lawless barbarians and/or in a state of civil war. * {{Planetville}}: Often paired with Planet of Hats. A planetary population smaller than that of an urban apartment building is commonly considered to constitute a "civilization", to the extent of being subject to the Prime Directive. Perhaps the most glaring example was presented in the ''ENT'' episode "Terra Nova", where the roughly 200 settlers of Earth's first interstellar colony decided to declare independent sovereignty, ''and Earth let it go!''* PowerOfFriendship: The franchise features a lot of this; especially in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]'' and in ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]''. Many episodes revolve around one of the crew being kidnapped, threatened, or otherwise in danger, and having the rest of the crew band together to save them. Has resulted in plenty of CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming and BigDamnHeroes.* PsychicPowers: Many species have them, ranging from minor extrasensory perception to godlike powers.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Q-T]]* RagnarokProofing: In ''Living Witness'', Season 4, Episode 23 of ''Voyager'', the Doctor's program was bootlegged onto a storage device, and wakes up 700 years in the future on a planet where the survivors are unhappy over past events, where all of the devices that had been left behind from Voyager, tricorder, the Doctor's holo emitter, etc., which had lain buried and forgotten for over 680 years, until found in archeological digs, all work perfectly.* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: ''Voyager'', of course. Virtually nobody on the ship has any business being there, including the ship's Doctor.** ''Deep Space Nine'' also has a fairly motley crew, considering that some belong to species who are avowed enemies of the TNG crew. Moreover, nobody on the station really wants to be there: Sisko originally wanted to transfer to civilian service; Quark was planning to split town altogether; Worf is back to square one, surrounded by even ''more'' people he doesn't understand; Kira resented working with Starfleet and was only comfortable blowing things up; Garak is barred from returning to his homeworld and, to add insult to injury, constantly shivering from the (comparatively freezing) temperature. * RandomTransportation: In the {{Verse}} wormholes can be used ''in principle'' for very long distance interstellar travel, but in practice aren't because they're unstable and can land you at any random location in the galaxy with no guarantee that they'll open up again to bring you back. ** The wormhole in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' is notably stable, taking you from point X in the Alpha Quadrant to point Y in the Gamma Quadrant and back again every time; but that's because it was artificially created by the Prophets/wormhole aliens instead of being a natural phenomenon.* RayGun: Phasers and disruptors.* RaygunGothic: The [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Original Series]] solidly fits this trope. By the ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Generation]]'' era the Federation is in transition between RayGunGothic and CrystalSpiresAndTogas.* TheRez: Whole ''planets'' of it.* ReactionlessDrive: Every ship's warp drive is propelled by the cylindrical nacelles on the sides of the ship. There is no apparent ejection of matter, so what force is propelling the ship is unknown to our primitive understanding of physics. Most theorists who dissect the TechnoBabble have settled on the idea that warp technology distorts space-time in a way that a) makes the ship capable of FasterThanLightTravel and b) requires the engines to work in a way analogous to terrestrial transport (''à la'' SpaceFriction).** Even the slower-than-light Impulse Engines appear to be some kind of reactionless drive. Although they glow an ominous red color while in operation, there's no apparent ejection of matter, and no mention is ever made of the need for propellant storage. (The top speed under impulse drive is supposed to be 0.25''c'', which even for antimatter-powered Newtonian engines would require a substantial amount of propellant mass to be expelled.)* RecycledInSpace: The franchise itself is, in the words of its creator, [[WagonTrainToTheStars Wagon Train]] [-TO THE STARS-]!** In ''TOS'', the Klingons are Russians [-IN SPACE!-] while the Romulans are the then-inscrutable Chinese...[-IN SPACE-]!** Vulcans are Elves. [-IN SPACE-]!** Romulans are Dark Elves/Drow, Klingons are Orcs/Orks, Borg are Undead, et cetera.*** Borg are more like Horror Film Zombies in space!** Nicholas Meyer, director of ''Film/{{Star Trek II|The Wrath of Khan}}'' and ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'', describes the series as "''HoratioHornblower'' [-IN SPACE-]!"*** Gene Roddenberry described James T. Kirk as a space-age Horatio Hornblower in the book ''The Making of Star Trek'' (1968).* TheReptilians: The Gorn. ** The rarely-seen brandy-making Saurians. ** The Cardassians. Though they're the least reptilian, looking pretty much like humans with scales tacked on, they also happen to be the most villainous of the reptoid lot. ** The Reptilian Xindi in ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. ** The Voth were descended from Earth hadrosaurs. Which is at least a new one, as far as Dinosauroids go. ** The Hirogen (modeled on a gila monster) and the Jem'Hadar at least look the part, and are the villains in most of their appearances. However, the latter's makeup was based on a rhinoceros.* RevisitingTheRoots: For better or for worse, ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' was this for the franchise: A lone Federation starship exploring the dangerous unknowns and meeting new life and new civilizations.* TheRival: To ''Franchise/StarWars''. A sort-of staple in contemporary pop culture, the two franchises, specifically their fanbases have been mortal enemies for nearly half a century.* RobotsEnslavingRobots:** [[HiveMind The Borg Collective]] is an interesting aversion of this. Though it has no compunction sacrificing drones to adapt to phasers and forces individuals to act against their will, it would not outright order individuals like Picard/Locutus or Hugh to ''die'' when they became a threat... it prized them too much, like limbs. It was effectively a hydra that ''liked'' some of its heads. Part of this is because, at least in earlier depictions, the Borg - despite appearances - value diversity. Uniqueness allowed it to expand its own capabilities. However, born and raised Borg like Hugh that undergo a period of individuality can grow to reject the Collective's absolute stranglehold on them, and even ''infect'' other drones with TheEvilsOfFreeWill.** However, the [[HiveQueen Borg Queen]] in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' and ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' is a straight cyborg example of this trope. She sees herself as the pinnacle of perfection, knowingly enslaves her drones to make them fit her view of perfection by squashing any individuality and will thoughtlessly sacrifice thousands of drones to capture and coerce individuals like Seven of Nine or attacking the invincible aliens in Fluidic Space.* SapientCetaceans: A frequent theme in the series.* ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: ''Voyager'' cruising over a planet's rings in the opening credits. Why does it take sixty years to fly back to the Alpha Quadrant? All they have to do is walk from one side of the ship to the other.** The Dyson Sphere in TNG's "Relics." The outer shell is built around a star to absorb its power. If you constructed a Dyson Sphere around our sun, for example, the surface area would be about 550 million times the entire surface area of the Earth. * ScreensAreCameras: All viewscreens behave like this, in each the show's incarnations.** On ''Deep Space Nine'', the producers rolled out a new invention: a portable 3D holocommunicator. Instead of conversing via a viewscreen, two actors could share the same room and still appear to be talking over great distances. Ironically, this looks even cheaper than the viewscreen did, despite being ''more'' time-consuming and expensive (due to various camera trickery to make the 'effect' look less blatant.) The device only shows up in two episodes, "For the Uniform" and "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?"** ''Trek'' holograms have always been cleaner than ''Star Wars'' holograms, so flickering or static wouldn't be keeping in canon. Instead, they tried surrounding the 'holographic' actor in blue light (so as to appear to be transmitting from a different room), but the actor confusingly looks like a ghost(!). * ScreenShake: The usual method of showing impact. Shake camera, shimmy actors.* SelfMadeOrphan: Uses this trope in Klingon mythology. According to it, the gods created Klingons, who then turned around and killed them for the trouble. * ShoutOutToShakespeare: Many characters quote the Bard. Alien cultures tend to admire him too, even claiming him as their own.* SightedGunsAreLowTech: Hand phasers, at least. Heavy-duty phaser rifles usually have a sight.* SlowElectricity: The console displays always go on/off in sequence around the bridge. If there's a ship-wide outage, expect an outside shot of windows lighting up/going out one at a time.* SmartHouse: The ships behave much like this from TNG onward.* SocietyMarchesOn: Most prominent in TOS, which was very heavy on Cold War allegory with the Federation (the United States), Klingon Empire (the Soviet Union) and Romulans (China) being very obvious expies of real world nations. Real world social values from the times the various series were made also crept into the shows in a variety of ways, such as surprisingly consistent gender roles, fashions often paralleling the real world, alternative lifestyles being limited to alien cultures, no human homosexuality or bisexuality and a society that had supposedly evolved beyond materialism, but only because they had the technology to create almost anything they could desire at will.* SomeKindOfForceField: Characters are always touching the force fields to show the audience that they are there.* SpaceFighter: Fighters are rare, but did turn up now and then -- especially in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]''. Later Trek series started having a stronger military influence and ships like the Defiant and the Delta Flyer are surprisingly battle-hearted fighters.* SpaceNavy: Starfleet.* SpaceshipSlingshotStunt: A common trick for time travel no less.* StandardSciFiArmy: Codified the use Security personnel. Follows the visual media model of focusing mostly on Infantry.* StandardSciFiHistory: Earth's history follows this.* StandardSciFiSetting: One of the most famous {{Trope Codifier}}s.* StandardStarshipScuffle: A likely TropeCodifier.* StandardTimeUnits: Stardates.* StarfishAliens: While the series is often mocked for excessive use of RubberForeheadAliens, special mention must be made of the Tholians that appeared in the original series episode "The Tholian Web", who were ''so'' strange, while visible only partly through the main viewscreen during negotiations, that the writers themselves (like anyone else) couldn't figure out what they actually were implied to be for the better part of 30 years, even while being passingly mentioned once or twice in different series. Only toward the end of ''Enterprise'' did they finally settle on the head being a carapace, and the Tholians as a race of advanced arachnids.** For a show with a limited budget, even the original series had a decent number of nonhumanoids. Apart from a bunch of EnergyBeings, we also had the Horta, Yarnek, the Melkotians--and a few shapeshifters like Sylvia & Korob, and the Kelvans, whose ''real'' forms were nonhumanoid. Each of the later series added a few more to the list. The show that far and away had the most nonhumanoids was the one where budget limitations could not hinder creature design: ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries.''* StateSec: Romulans and Cardassians both got their own little versions in the form of the Tal'Shiar and Obsidian Order respectively. Arguably Starfleet's Section 31. The Ferengi's FCA might also qualify given their cultural bias.* StealthInSpace: The Romulans developed a Cloaking Device in the timeframe of TOS, which was soon stolen by the Federation; subsequently, the Treaty of Algeron prohibited the Federation from using or developing any cloaking technology of its own.* StopTrick* SubspaceAnsible: Except when the plot demands its absence.* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: ''Star Trek'' has probably the largest and most diverse variety of these out of any science fiction franchise, including a multitude of races of EnergyBeing[=s=], PhysicalGod[=s=] and the flat-out [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]] Q. * SuperDoc: Any Sickbay doctor.* SuperWeight:** Type 0: Jake Sisko, Barclay, Kes, Neelix[[note]]Neelix very occasionally [[LetsGetDangerous gets dangerous]], which pushes him towards Type 1[[/note]], the Ferengi. ** Type 1: Most regulars who are Starfleet officers, Klingons, Romulans.** Type 2: [[PsychicPowers Spock and other Vulcans]], [[{{Transhuman}} Khan Noonien Singh]], [[ElectronicEyes Geordie LaForge]], [[TheEmpath Deanna Troi]], Picard in proximity to the Borg collective, [[spoiler:[[{{Transhuman}} Julian Bashir]]]], [[{{Cyborg}} Seven of Nine]], [[ProjectedMan Holograms]], [[SuperSoldier Jem'Hadar]].** Type 3: Soong-type androids (Data, [[EvilTwin Lore]], and B-4), the Borg, [[StarfishAliens Species 8472]], [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Changelings]], Benjamin Sisko at the end of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', [[spoiler:Gul Dukat]] as the Emissary of the Pah-Wraiths.** Type 4: Kes after her ascension, Armus.** Type 5: Species 8472 bioships, the Caretaker, Sphere Builders, The Prophets/Pah-Wraiths, [[DoomsdayDevice the planet killer]], the Whale Probe, Nagilum.** Type 6: The Q Continuum, The Guardian of Forever, The Douwd ([[spoiler:Kevin Uxbridge]]).* {{Technobabble}}: More or less the TropeCodifier. In the script it would be labeled as [TECH] and they had a separate writer to put in whatever seemed appropriate.* TechnologyPorn* TeleporterAccident: Sugarcoat it all you want, but you're really stepping into a molecular blender and [[ExpendableClone cloning yourself]] each time you walk onto transport pad. ** There have been some [[RealityEnsues grisly accidents]] in each iteration of ''Trek'': two ''Enterprise'' crewmen died agonizing deaths (''TOS: The Motion Picture''), Riker unwittingly twinned himself when he tried beaming through a distorted atmosphere (TNG, "Second Chances"), Scotty's transporter pattern was stuck in limbo for a century (TNG, "Relics"), and another crewman's body was mixed with rocks and foliage while attempting to beam out during a fierce windstorm (ENT, "Strange New World"). Sabotage of the transporter platform is not uncommon, either.--->'''Weyoun:''': You were supposed to be on that transporter pad with him.\\'''Damar:''' I was called away. [[IHaveToGoIronMyDog An urgent meeting with the Central Command]].\\'''Weyoun''': How convenient.\\'''Damar''': I always was lucky. * TeleportInterdiction: Since the transporters are such an integral part of the Star Trek franchise, it has a lot of this. For example, it's not possible to transport through a ship's deflector shields. Usually this is used as a way to add drama -- with the ship having to drop its shields briefly in the middle of battle in order to beam back an away team -- but it also means transporter-enabled boarding parties aren't a major part of battle tactics.* {{Tie In Novel}}s: A huge range of novels based on all eras of the franchise (and the spaces in between) exists, including novelizations of several episodes and ''StarTrekNewFrontier''. Other than the novelizations, these are all officially declared ''non''-canon by Paramount and GeneRoddenberry. When Jeri Taylor was the WordOfGod on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', her original novels about the crew's history were considered canon. They aren't any more.** Pre-''Nemesis'', authors had a standing order not to kill any character that had appeared on-screen. Afterwards, because ''Nemesis'' is likely the last time the original timeline will be seen on-screen, all bets are off. (Still non-canon, however.)* TimePolice: The Federation of the 29th Century and Daniels' faction from the 31st Century. [[RunningGag They aren't very effective at this]].** Janeway is described as casually flaunting the timeline so frequently it actually managed to [[NiceJobBreakingItHero drive Captain Braxton 'insane''.]] He comes up with something called "The Janeway Factor," meaning that you can fully expect her to blunder into any time-sensitive activities going on.** Also, the time police hate Kirk; when Sisko gives his report about "Trials and Tribble-ations," and first mentions Kirk, the two operatives [[EyeTake exchange a look]] which says, "we hate the Kirk cases."-->"[[CowboyCop Seventeen separate temporal violations!]] The biggest file on record!"* TimeToStepUpCommander: A frequent device (often in the disaster episode) is to have a member of the secondary bridge crew or even the counselor forced to take command when the captain is knocked out or cut off from the rest of the ship.* TimeyWimeyBall: Across the franchise as a whole the exact nature of TimeTravel and its relationship to TheMultiverse is never really clarified. Are AlternateUniverse[=s=] the result of time travelers changing history? Naturally occurring phenomena? The creations of bored Q entertaining themselves at the expense of Starfleet captains? No definitive answer is ever given despite the fact that travel through time and between parallel universes is far from unusual, and in many cases used as AppliedPhlebotinum for solving otherwise unsolvable problems.* ToBeLawfulOrGood: One of the most common sources of conflict in the series. The Prime Directive produces seemingly endless cases of characters having to decide whether to follow the rules and allow an atrocity to occur, or ignore them and abandon the Federation's principles. Often made more complicated by the fact that the Federation and Starfleet Command are not above MovingTheGoalPosts when it comes to application of the Prime Directive.* TokenEnemyNonHuman: Most of the "Big Bad" species produce a black sheep who sees the light, defects to the good guys, and becomes a bridge officer. With Seven of Nine (a discarded Borg), this trope reached its apogee. ** Only the Romulans have proven implacable enough to resist this.** Interestingly, we do see Romulans and Cardassians among Starfleet's uniformed ranks, but only in [[BizarroWorld alternate realities]]. On rare occasions, Starfleet officers turn out to have Romulan ancestry as well (If Saavik had appeared in ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'', [[spoiler: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen this would have been her reason for supporting the conspiracy.]]]])* TouchTelepathy: The Vulcan mind meld:** Spock touches the heads of the listed people in the following episodes while doing a MindMeld with them.*** "Dagger of the Mind". Simon van Gelder, to find out what deviltry is going on at Elba II.*** "The Devil in the Dark": The Horta in order to communicate with it.*** In "Requiem For Methuselah": Kirk, in order to remove his memories of Rayna Kapek.*** "Spectre of the Gun". Kirk, [=McCoy=] and Scotty, to convince them that the situation they're in isn't real (so the simulated bullets can't [[YourMindMakesItReal kill them]]).*** "Mirror, Mirror". Evil!Spock does it with Dr. [=McCoy=] so he can find out what's going on.*** "I, Mudd". He tries it on Norman, but fails because Norman's a robot.*** "The Return of The Archons". He tries to do it on [=McCoy=] but fails because of Landru's MindControl.** Several other characters do it too: Miranda to Spock in "Is There In Truth No Beauty?", T'Pau to Spock in "Amok Time".* TranslatorMicrobes: The Universal Translator. ** We occasionally get to see the Translator in action, such as in "Sanctuary" where the aliens' gibberish ''gradually'' turned to English. ** And of course, "Darmok" famously subverted it by having the aliens talk in allegories, which aren't so easily translated. * TeleportersAndTransporters: Perhaps the vaguest invention of the 23rd century is the transporter.** Humans in the future, being generally agnostic and pro-science, have come to peace with the discovery that "matter and energy are interchangeable." They don't seem to fret much over the philosophical implications of dying and being replaced with a clone each time they beam out. ** Not to mention there seems to be some ContinuitySnarl on how exactly transportation works, since in some episodes it's literal molecular destruction, while in others we see people being transported who maintain a consistent stream of consciousness even while they're being "blended," so it usually comes down to a case of DependingOnTheWriter.** Before they nailed down a lot of nitty gritty, the novelist who wrote the print adaptations of TOS episodes asserted the transporter works by convincing all the particles in your body that they're really at the place where you wanted them to be, so they jump there. Which is a lot less horrifying than the "take you apart and put you back together at the other end" explanation.** Tech manuals try to assuage the horror by stating that you're reconstructed perfectly at the other end because the scan is at a quantum level. (Compared to replicators building stuff at the molecular level. Also this is why replicators cannot create life.)** The transporters also have the Heisenberg Compensators, an unabashed Hand Wave on the scientifically unfeasible nature of all transporters and teleporters. * TroubleFromThePast: We have the Eugenics Wars of the mid-1990s, the "sanctuary districts" of the early 21st century where the homeless, jobless, and mentally ill were left to rot, and the post-atomic horror following WorldWarThree in the late 21st century.[[/folder]]

[[folder:U-Z]]* UltimateUniverse: With the amount of [[ContinuityNod Continuity Nods]] and BroadStrokes picking and choosing certain elements from every show and movie, the reboot movies ''Star Trek'' and ''Star Trek Into Darkness'' could possibly be one.* UniquenessDecay: The Borg start out in ''Next Generation'' as a mysterious, frighteningly advanced and implacable species from beyond known space. Then ''Enterprise'' has them show up about 300 years before that, while their VillainDecay on Voyager makes them seem distinctly nonthreatening.* UnusualUserInterface: Data was regularly plugging himself into various bits of the ship. Once they even attached ''just'' his head to a console after his body was misplaced. ** In some cases (particularly in TNG), computers were reprogrammed by rearranging "isolinear chips" (green, plastic spark plugs). Back in the 1940s and before, this was a legitimate way to program computers. Why they return to it in the [=2360s=] is anyone's guess.*** At least for robotics, the technique is quite valid and [[http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/tools-toys/mindstorms-not-just-a-kids-toy is experiencing a rebirth]]. And military electronic hardware has long consisted of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embedded_System_Module interchangeable modules]] (the theory being that replacing an entire module is easier--particularly under combat conditions--than restoring the code).** Speaking of Star Trek: TNG, you kids today may be all jaded and stuff, but those touch screen Okudagrams on the Enterprise were freaking awesome in 1987.** An episode of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' has older versions of the crew having trouble adapting to the Defiant's antiquated interface, being used to a three-dimensional projection. ("The Visitor")** In the VOY finale, Janeway returns from decades in the future to change the present, and she is implanted with a standard issue neural computer interface from the future. ** There's another episode where Tom Paris gets too close to an alien shuttle with a neural interface. ** One episode of ''[=DS9=]'' featured a guest character with a data port behind her ear, which she could use to bypass security systems. The dialogue made it sound as though they were relatively freely available... which only raises questions about why we never saw one again. ** The Hirogen ships' interface works looks like sticking metal toothpicks into a gigantic sphere. ** The Borg can also do this with their assimilation tubes. Said tubes inject nanites into anything. Those nanites then infect and reprogram the target system to resemble that of a Borg ship.* UnwinnableJokeGame: Ironically subverted in ''Starfleet Academy'' on the SuperNintendo. You are given [[UnwinnableTrainingSimulation The Kobayashi Maru]] scenario as a graduation requirement. It's ''supposed'' to be unwinnable. However, due to the way the video game is designed, it's entirely possible to engage the Klingons '''and beat them.'''** [[MythologyGag You can also do what Kirk did - cheat.]] There's a cheat code that lets you name your character "James T. Kirk". Play the game using this name, then hail the Klingons once they attack.* UsefulBook: ''The Teachings of Surak'', aka [[Website/TheAgonyBooth the Gideon's Bible of the future]]. Only much weightier.** The Ferengi have their own variation: ''The Rules of Acquisition'', which they quote like scripture.* ValuesDissonance: There is some of this between the Star Trek shows, spanning decades, and the audiences of various generations, but this trope really comes into its own in universe, with the majority of plots being about or involving inter-species and inter-cultural values dissonance.* VerbThis: In ''First Contact'':-->'''Worf''': [[YouWillBeAssimilated Assimilate]] ''this.'' *cue Borgsplosion** TheVerse: [[Franchise/TrekVerse Widely recognized as quite possibly the most coherent, internally consistent fictional universe ever created]].* VillainDecay: In addition to the Borg (mentioned under UniquenessDecay above), the Ferengi were originally intended to be major villains in ''Next Generation''. Although their first on-screen appearance (Picard speaking to a close-up headshot of a Ferengi on a viewscreen) was extremely intimidating, the diminutive Ferengi were not taken very seriously as bad guys by most fans. The Ferengi were subsequently rescued by being retooled into comedy relief and often sympathetic characters with the Romulans and eventually the Borg becoming the heavies after the first two seasons. And don't get us started on the ''Kazon''...* AVillainNamedZrg: Klingons, Kazon, and Borg.** Klingons love the letter K. ''The Original Series'' gave us the iconic triumvirate of Kang, Kor, Koloth, and Kahless; and the movies have Kruge, Klaa, Koord, and Gorkon. In the Expanded Universe, their home planet used to be called Klinzhai, but the official canon later renamed it Qonos (pronounced "Kronos", with a K sound).* WeWillNotHavePocketsInTheFuture: Subverted in ENT, which overcompensated with [[{{Zipperiffic}} more zippers than is necessary]].* WeWillUseLasersInTheFuture: Okay, fine, ''phasers''. ''Ubiquitous lasers'' variety, as far as the Federation is concerned.* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: Romulans and Cardassians are heavy into dilithium mining, and employ untouchables (such as the Reman caste) or subjugated aliens to dig it up for them. ''Enterprise'' revealed the Vulcans are operating like a modern-day hegemony: the Andorian colonies are operated by tinpot dictators who funnel dilithium to Vulcan and leave the workers, who work for a pittance in [[CompanyTown company-owned shantytowns]], with nothing.* WellDoneSonGuy: This is Star Trek, and proud fathers are not welcome here. Just ask Sarek.** In particular, Sarek said upon Spock's birth, [[CaptainObvious "He looks...''half-human'']]." Disapproved of Spock's entry into Starfleet Academy and the two are only fully reconciled in ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (keep in mind that Spock had ''died'' two movies earlier--perhaps this was a jolt to the old man's conscience?) Spock expresses only partly-veiled annoyance that Sarek had engaged in a mind-meld with ''Picard'' when he had never done so with his own son. Sarek is however played far more sympathetically and the relationship between him and Spock is quite a bit better in the 2009 reboot.** Picard's father, Maurice, was a wine-maker who insisted on living his life [[GoodOldWays as though it were the 1800s]]. Fittingly, he abhorred technology and disapproved of his son joining Starfleet. In fact, when Picard briefly died in "Tapestry", he saw a vision of his father berating him for yet another "disappointment."*** This is averted with Joe Sisko, a traditionalist restauranteur and cook who nonetheless supports his son with raising his family in space.** Riker is the chip off the old block: his old man is a glory hound who ''must'' compete with his son at every opportunity. This is evidenced by Riker's childhood memory of a fishing trip, in which Kyle Riker took credit for Will's big catch.** Tom Paris' instructor at Starfleet, Admiral ''Owen'' Paris: By no means a pleasant or easy tutor to have so keenly on hand. Owen gave his son a "B-Minus".** Malcolm Reed's father basically disowned him for not joining the Royal Navy.** Odo has a bristled relationship with his surrogate 'father', Dr. Mora. He mentions that when Mora tried to get an infant Odo to take the shape of a cube, Odo resisted the first two times out of defiance. Mora was very proud with himself for helping Odo mature as a humanoid, but Odo resented being paraded around Cardassian officials to impress them (always being asked to perform the 'Cadassian neck trick', which Odo hated). Odo even felt jealousy when Mora took over the education and training of another baby Changeling.** Elim Garak and his father [[spoiler: Enabran Tain]] had an icy cold relationship, even by the standards of other characters appearing on this list. He's the reason why Garak became an agent of the [[StateSec Obsidian Order]], had claustrophobia as an adult (from being locked into closets as a child), and was also partially responsible for his exile to Deep Space Nine. [[spoiler: On his deathbed in a Dominion internment camp however, Enabran Tain then revealed to Garak that his uncompromising attitude was mainly due to his position as the head of the Obsidian Order, and admitted that [[SoProudOfYou he was actually proud of him]].]]** Ezri's mother manages to take this further by not only thoroughly disapproving of her only daughter, but also by her domineering attitude towards her other two children. She forced Ezri's brothers into helping run her failing mining business, which [[spoiler: subsequently led to the entire family's involvement with the Orion Syndicate, and then to Ezri's brother committing murder on the family's behalf.]]** Averted with Benjamin Sisko, whose father is nothing ''but'' supportive and very proud of his son. Benjamin in turn is a firm but loving father to Jake, [[ParentsAsPeople although he's far from perfect]], but given the circumstances even before the Dominion War this is understandable. Also averted with Data's creator, Dr. Noonian Soong, who considered Data his crowning achievement. ''[[TheUnfavorite Lore]]'', on the other hand...* WhatTheHellHero: Every Captain. In every series. And not infrequently either. Either them at the crew for their crap, or the crew to themselves for their own crap.* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: From the Horta in ''TOS'' to Data in ''TNG'' to Odo and the Founders in ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' to holograms in ''VOY'', every series has at least one story struggling with this topic. In fact, there are so many that the series itself [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman/StarTrek has its own page]] under that namespace.* WhiteAndGreyMorality: Most of the five series heavily favored this trope. The show tended not to have very many truly evil people and the ones that seemed to be would get fleshed out or retconned later to be more sympathetic. Typically most people could be reasoned with and almost everybody was just looking out for their own if they weren't motivated by nobler intentions. ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' skews furthest from this trope with the Federation becoming a bit greyer and the Dominion being darker than is typical of the other series.\\\\The one exception would be the ''Next Generation''-era Ferengi. They were universally motivated by greed, embodying the worst of capitalism on a show that tended to favor socialist utopias. Ironically, while ''Deep Space Nine'' was overall darker, they pulled the Ferengi into the gray range, even introducing a number of social reforms during their run and having the Alpha Quadrant be saved by a Ferengi.* WordOfGod: Per Paramount Studios (owners of the franchise) and Gene Roddenberry (creator of the franchise) from the late-80s/early-90s, only live-action ''Star Trek'' TV episodes and films are considered canon. This has been hotly debated by fans, and occasionally ignored by scriptwriters. * [[WorldOfHam Universe of Ham]]: Star Trek: Go big or go home.** LargeHam [[LargeHam/StarTrek has a Star Trek subpage]] for some reason... it started with the incomparable WilliamShatner as TheCaptain, and hardly looked back ever since (with usually [[EvilIsHammy villains]] chewing the most scenery),* [[WorldOfSnark Universe of Snark]]: Everybody loves to argue. And it's usually a delight.* WorthlessYellowRocks: The reigning currency in the Alpha Quadrant is gold-pressed latinum. Denominations of gold-pressed latinum, in order of increasing value, include the slip, the strip, the bar and the brick. The imprinted gold is merely a casing for the latinum, which carries real value. -->'''Quark:''' Someone's extracted all the latinum! There's nothing here but ''worthless gold!''\\'''Odo:''' And [[BadNewsInAGoodWay it's all yours.]]\\'''Quark:''' '''[[BigNo NOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo--]]'''* WorthyOpponent : The Romulan captain in ''Balance of Terror'' most notably. Used on other occasions.* XMeetsY: [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny Hidden]] by the influence of Trek on later productions, but the original premise was then novel at least for television, and could easily be described as "HoratioHornblower meets TheOuterLimits".* YouDontWantToCatchThis: Occasionally used by the ship's doctors to buy time or get in somewhere they shouldn't be.* YouKeepUsingThatWord: The later series are notoriously bad for using the word "Ancient" to describe things from the 19th and 20th Century, which would be like describing Roman Chariots and Nuclear Weapons as ''close'' historically speaking. Made further ridiculous considering they are only a few hundred years downwind from the things they are describing.** 'Ancient' as a legal term is used to refer to any document or artifact more than 100 years old. Perhaps the legal definition prevailed over time?* YouLookFamiliar: Numerous times. But in this case [[RubberForeheadAliens putting a different alien makeup]] helps a lot in distinguishing characters played by the same actor.** Mark Lenard could leave the impression that Spock's father is LivingADoubleLife, as he has appeared as both a Romulan Commander and Ambassador Sarek. Especially noteworthy since as Romulans and Vulcans are really sub-groups within the same species, and his makeup does not make him look significantly different in either role other than his apparent age.** The second Doctor of TNG played a girl du jour in the original series.*** Twice.** Armin Shimmerman and Max Grodénchik played seven distinct Ferengi characters between the two of them, in addition to a handful of non-Ferengi roles.** Jeffery Combs, Vaughn Armstrong and J. G. Hertzler have set records for portraying no less than five alien species over the course of the "next generation" series of shows (including Combs playing two separate characters of different races in THE SAME EPISODE of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'').** From ''Voyager'', Tim Russ (Tuvok) and Robert Duncan [=McNeill=] (Tom Paris) both played villains in episodes of ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]''. In fact, [=McNeill=] was supposed to reprise his role originally, before it was re-written as Tom Paris. Both are notable because there's practically no makeup involved between the two roles (Russ only gained pointy ears).** This was played with in the ''Deep Space Nine'' episode "Far Beyond The Stars"; once Ben Sisko began thinking he was Benny Russell, the people in his life looked like the people Sisko knew - except all human. But then the show would tap the fourth wall by making them appear in makeup for a moment. It's also the only time Marc Alaimo, Jeff Combs, JG Hertzler, Rene Auberjonois, Armin Shimerman and Michael Dorn got to appear on-camera without their makeup in the entire run of the series (for poor Michael Dorn, it was the first time in ''eleven years'' that he was on-camera with no makeup). Casey Biggs joined in with the follow-up episode "Shadows and Symbols."** At the end of the series, a scene at Vic's featured almost every single actor who had some sort of major speaking role in the series in the bar without makeup on (except for the actors who played the main characters, who appeared in character.)** Marc Alaimo appeared as the first TNG-era Romulan and the first Cardassian on TNG before being cast as Cardassian Gul Dukat on [=DS9=].* {{Zeerust}}: A given for the original series because of general budget restrictions of the time. Caused no shortage of FanDumb with ''Enterprise'' and the 2009 ''Star Trek'' movie because of an attempt to update. ''Next Generation'' mostly averts this even though it is over 20 years old now, mostly due to having an excellent--and GenreSavvy--visual designer in Michael Okuda.[[/folder]]